Death & FISH CAKE
by bluewindfall
Summary: Naruto is something of a undisciplined maelstrom, turbulent and unyielding, like he could bend the very world to his will. He is a raging force of nature, born of rain and storm. Next to Naruto, Sasuke feels unfettered, as though nothing is beyond his reach. A Bleach AU featuring Naruto characters.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke steels himself as he steps through the gate.

Abruptly, he feels the lack of abundant spirit particles. He absentmindedly likens the sensation to breathing air at a higher elevation. The prickling discomfort is a minor distraction from his mission, but a stark reminder of how alone he suddenly feels.

This is his first assignment in the mortal realm, and he needs produce perfect results. He refuses to make any mistakes when he has worked so hard to convince his captain to give him this assignment alone.

Yes, Sasuke is going to return from his first solo mission with impeccable results just like Itachi had.

Shaking his head to clear away thoughts of his brother, the clan, the disappointment on his father's face when he admitted he was unseated, Sasuke springs forward to land softly on the ground. The click of his sandal echoes despite his efforts, and he immediately feels a spike of irritation.

An unnerving howl shatters the silence of the night, and Sasuke startles at its proximity. How could he have not noticed the presence of a hollow so close?

Berating himself angrily, he rushes to the rooftop of the nearest house and flash steps until his surroundings begin to blur. Sasuke feels the dull ache of activating Sharingan slowly fade as the world sharpens back into focus.

The Hollow is some lower-class specimen, so Sasuke doesn't bother to analyze it carefully. He spots a spirit grasped in its right hand and steps forward to rush into action. Drawing his Zanpakuto from its sheath, he moves to intercept the Hollow when–

A shock of yellow cuts a sharp contrast with the rest of the night and Sasuke stares, transfixed for a second, as a boy rushes out of the nearby house. He shouts to psych himself up and proceeds to pathetically fling a metal folding chair at the Hollow.

As Sasuke expected, the Hollow only becomes more irate and now he has one more problem to deal with. Instead of launching the standard attack at the back of the head, Sasuke must secure this human's safety first.

The boy is clearly mortal, and more importantly, not a spirit. This goes against everything Sasuke was taught at the Academy, and in his confusion, he decides to treat him as a spirit. If he introduces himself as a Shinigami, he should be able to calm him down and move away from the Hollow.

"Step aside," Sasuke says as he lands neatly next to the boy who had switched to waving a golf club in another attempt to fend off the Hollow. "I am an official of Soul Society, a Shinigami experienced in handling extermination of Hollows. I need you to move away from the Hollow so I can help the spirit…" Sasuke trails off as he realizes the boy's mouth is hanging open and doesn't appear to be listening.

He wracks his brain for something better to say but is saved from more interaction as the Hollow lunges for the blond with its other hand.

Sasuke swiftly shoves the teen back and ducks under the right arm to land a long upwards strike on the Hollow, forcing it to release the spirit.

The girl is sobbing uncontrollably, and Sasuke absently observes that she's slightly transparent, unlike the spirits of Rukongai he's familiar with.

Bending his knees slightly as he lands, Sasuke rushes back at the Hollow as it wails in pain. As he forces his Zanpakuto down, wind whistling as the blade keens, the Hollow retreats into a cloud of black mist.

Sasuke lands, disappointed. He turns back intending to perform _Konso_ on the spirit to send her to Soul Society.

He doesn't know when the Hollow will be back; it shouldn't be too soon since he managed to injure it. Sasuke decides to sheath his Zanpakuto for now and deactivates his Sharingan. He can't afford to scare the spirit after all.

The teen is comforting the girl and Sasuke is secretly grateful to him for making this part of his job easier.

"Hey, it's alright! This guy just fought off that monster for us. We're going to be okay. What's your name?" He pats her gently on the back.

She hiccups a few times and slowly calms down. "Momiji."

The blond smiles, "Nice to meet you, Momiji!"

Sasuke decides the girl has been sufficiently soothed and rushes over quickly to introduce himself so he can move on to the rest of his duties.

"Momiji, I'm going to help you get to where you need to be. I just need you to hold still and I'll send you to Soul Society so you can pass over." Sasuke declares, straining to exude the same amicable vibe as the boy beside him. He's always had difficulty with convincing spirits to peacefully pass on.

The spirit looks hesitant and Sasuke hopes he doesn't look as anxious and stressed as he currently feels.

"But, I'm scared. I don't want to leave. I want to go home," The girl whispers, clinging to the blond boy's shirt.

Sasuke opens his mouth to spew out another line he memorized from the textbook, when the teen pats her gently on the head.

"I'm sure this guy knows what he's doing! He's only trying to help, and Soul Society must be like heaven or something right? I'm sure you'll love it there!" He smiles and it must be contagious because Sasuke feels his lips twitch awkwardly as the girl nods a little.

Sasuke draws his Zanpakuto and the boy looks alarmed, but Sasuke's tired of explaining using lines from the textbook, and he sort of doesn't really remember this part that well, so he hurries to flip the hilt and taps the spirit on her forehead.

The usual blue glow of light illuminates the street and the girl fades with a small smile on her face. Sasuke doesn't know if she's really going to a better place. He's seen Rukongai's outer districts and the cruelty of their supposed afterlife. It's part of why he hates performing _Konso_ and why he always has a hard to time sending spirits away.

Sasuke turns back to the irregularity standing before him and tries to decide what to do next. But once again, he's saved from making proper conversation by the Hollow's reappearance.

Sasuke turns to face the Hollow with his Zanpakuto grasped loosely in front of him. His Sharingan whirls to life and he decides he won't need to release his blade for this fight.

The boy mimics his position with the golf club and Sasuke suppresses a snort at his antics. "I don't require your assistance. Stand back as I handle this." Sasuke bounds forward without waiting on his reply and makes quick work of the Hollow.

Only, suddenly, the boy shouts, "Look out, behind you!"

He pushes Sasuke to the side to cover for him as a second Hollow Sasuke hadn't noticed launches toward them.

Sasuke clenches his jaw and before he knows it, he's in front of the boy and the Hollow has raked a jagged line down his shoulder. Everything is a blur and he doesn't have time to think anymore. Black spots appear in his vision and he falls to his knees. The Hollow is approaching and he's in danger, the boy is in danger– he needs to do something–

Sasuke grits his teeth and strikes a corner of the mask off the Hollow by switching his Zanpakuto to the other hand. Having used all his remaining strength, he falls flat on his back indignantly.

The Hollow screams and appears to be disoriented. Sasuke knows it's only a matter of time before it turns back to them.

The boy rushes to his side and he's shouting something, but Sasuke can't tell what he's saying. Blood is rushing in his ears and all he can hear is his own heart beating and the breath that leaves his lungs. Some droplets of liquid hit his face and Sasuke's first thought is spit, but it turns out the boy is crying.

Sasuke tries to wave his hand and coughs. "Run! Leave me here. If you stay, we'll both die!"

The teen shakes his head vigorously. Sasuke realizes he's truly very young. Sasuke is probably ten times older than him. He hasn't lived nearly enough. Yes, Sasuke might die, but maybe he can still save this boy.

Sasuke counts his breaths and slowly compartmentalizes the pain as he comes up with a terrible idea. He had heard from Sakura about it once. A way to transfer the powers of a Shinigami to a spirit temporarily. It had been done before, but Sasuke can't remember any of the details. This boy is a mortal, he's not a spirit and it could kill him. But he trusts Sakura's knowledge, and the boy can see him and other spirits for some reason. He can't think of what else to do. He can't fight anymore and he's going to die here, he can't– he'll be a disgrace. But if he can save this boy, maybe–

If it fails, they'll both die, but wouldn't they die here anyway since this idiot has no self-preservation instincts?

Sasuke takes a deep breath and checks that the Hollow is still unsettled.

Sasuke's stupid Academy textbook lines can't help him anymore, so he just forgoes any brain-to-mouth filtering. "I can give you my powers and you can fight the Hollow. Run the point of my Zanpakuto through the center of your body and you'll be a Shinigami. I don't know if this will work, but if we fail, we both die!" he shouts. The Hollow could attack any minute and they're so incredibly lucky that it hasn't yet.

The blond nods, and suddenly everything is quiet for a moment. He grins, "Give it here then, Shinigami!"

Sasuke smirks back deliriously. "My name is not Shinigami, it's Uchiha Sasuke."

The boy takes his Zanpakuto and Sasuke is blinded by the light. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

The light fades and the first thing Sasuke sees is the signature black of the _shihakusho_ all Shinigami wear.

Sasuke laughs as he realizes his gamble worked. There must be something special about this boy, for he has never heard of a spiritually aware human and he has definitely never seen any Shinigami manifest a Zanpakuto of such size.

The teen rushes head on at the Hollow like a fool and by some luck, the Hollow stands still waiting for him.

Then again, Sasuke considers that his spiritual pressure is off the charts and perhaps the Hollow feels just as stunned as Sasuke does at the moment.

It's over in a flash and Sasuke slumps to the ground exhaustively as the Hollow's mask shatters.

The teen spins around, eyes wide. "What just happened?" He jerks his head in the direction the crumbling monster. "Why's it disappearing? Are you gonna be alright? When did my clothes change? WHOA, I've got this huge sword! This is–"

"Shut up." Sasuke groans, clutching his shoulder as he makes a futile effort to stand. Huffing in frustration, he sinks back gracelessly to lean against the wall.

He is currently attempting to wrap his head around just what had occurred in the past few minutes. Sasuke had only intended to transfer a portion, perhaps half at most, of his power to this human, yet this halfwit has somehow managed to wrestle away nearly all of it!

 _No,_ Sasuke thinks. He needs to stay calm and avoid wasting energy thinking about things he can't handle right now. Sasuke pushes past the fog clouding his mind to dredge up the protocols taught in the Academy. Following extermination of a Hollow, locate any nearby spirits and perform _Konso_. Secure any mortal witnesses and deal with damage to the premises appropriately.

He would need to alter the memories of any nearby civilians and perhaps this human– _what did he say his name was again?_ In the spur of the moment, all Sasuke had managed to remember was some ramen topping. Surely he'd misheard over the clamor from the Hollow's rampage.

Sasuke swallows dryly as he reorganizes his thoughts. Now that he is unable to access his power, he can't complete his mission. Furthermore, giving a human the powers of a Shinigami was certain to get him into trouble, so he needed to process this matter carefully. Messing with this boy's memories could prove to be a hasty move before he's planned out what to do next.

He turns his head, intending to peer at the newly minted Shinigami, when his whole body shudders, forcing him to gasp for breath.

The boy shoves his face too close for Sasuke's comfort, obnoxious and loud. "Hey uh, Sasuke? Hey are you going to be alright? Hang in there, I'll fix you up, okay?"

This moron was getting on his last nerve and Sasuke is about to snap at him when he notices what the blond is holding in his hands. "Do you even know what you're doing?" Sasuke scoffed, attempting to hide his relief as the youth deftly produces a roll of bandages and other medical supplies.

"My dad runs a clinic, and I like to help out sometimes! So, don't stress, you couldn't be in better hands." He smiles sunnily, and Sasuke nods limply, grimacing as the disinfectant burned. "Anyway, thanks for helping Momiji! I really owe you. And before, I didn't mean to rush in and get in your way. I just– I don't know, I couldn't stand back you know?"

Sasuke blinks vacantly. His head pounds as he numbly realizes the loss of his power combined with minor blood loss is making him nauseous and dizzy. The boy's hands stop and Sasuke looks up to see his smile droop with the lack of response.

"Hn," he mutters noncommittally.

The blond's smile restores itself merrily and he resumes chattering Sasuke's ear off. "So, how come the moment I stabbed myself I suddenly had a sword? And–"

"Zanpakuto…" Sasuke corrects miserably.

"Yeah, Zanpakuto! And, and my clothes changed like a magical girl anime, and I–" The teen continues on, but all Sasuke can do is groan internally at what a mess he's gotten himself into.

"There! You should be alright now! Do you have a place to stay for the night? Want to sleepover? We have plenty of space in the clinic." He pats Sasuke gently on his uninjured shoulder to get his attention back.

"I mean, you totally saved my life back there, and I want to do anything I can to repay you, Sasuke. I, Uzumaki Naruto, will be forever be in your debt!" He grins and raises his hand in a dramatic thumbs-up pose.

Sasuke's last thought before blacking out is: _oh, so, his name really is a ramen topping_.

* * *

Notes:

Hi,

I'd first like to thank everyone for reading this. This was just a little idea of mine, and I probably won't be following the Bleach plot line exactly. Also, no characters from Bleach will show up. If things go well, this will have many chapters, but I don't exactly have anything solid planned out yet. I'm attempting to write in a way that if you haven't read or watched Bleach, you should still be able to understand. If there are things that are confusing or if I've made any mistakes, please feel free to let me know. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this. :D

\- DreadnoughtAqF


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto panics as he scrambles to catch Sasuke before he hits the ground. His knees scrape against the broken pieces of the street, but he's too focused on searching for Sasuke's pulse to notice the pain. Relaxing once he feels the steady beat, he checks that Sasuke's breathing is even and decides he should be alright for the moment.

Naruto is really confused right now, but it's not something he's unused to, so he shrugs and proceeds to drag his new friend into the house on a stretcher from the clinic.

Getting Sasuke up onto a bed is considerably harder, but Naruto manages in the end, so everything's okay. A small part of him wants to shake Sasuke awake and demand some answers, but Naruto pushes it back down and focuses on doing what he can for the moment.

After a moment of contemplation, and staring at Sasuke like a creep, Naruto decides to hook him up to the heart monitor just in case and because he needs something to do. Sasuke's wound wasn't deep, but all Naruto had done was perform some hasty first aid, so he needs his dad's help.

He also needs to go back outside to grab Sasuke's sword– _Zankaputo?-thingy_. It's probably important and Naruto had left his outside too.

Mind made up, Naruto speed dials his dad as he wanders back outside to pick through the rubble the street had been reduced to. A long, diagonal section of the street is broken up from his last swing. Naruto doesn't understand how that happened, so he's going to pretend it wasn't his fault unless someone asks.

Naruto nods to himself absently and listens as his phone beeps continuously. Dad was out for some fancy Doctor's Association meeting and he probably silenced his phone. Naruto glances at his screen and realizes it's still around 8:00, so his dad should be home soon. _Good, because I have no idea what to do anymore_.

Naruto fishes his super cool sword out of the line of bushes in front of their house. It's almost as long as he is tall, and it looks kind of similar to Sasuke's.

He glances down at the bushes and feels kind of bad because Dad had worked hard to trim them nicely and now Naruto and Sasuke had managed to shave off a large, awkwardly sized portion. Well, maybe just Naruto, but technically this was Sasuke's fault too. Hopefully Sasuke would apologize with him later. Dad is always very protective of his precious bushes.

Naruto blinks. Once. Twice. _Oh, what's that? Is that me over there? Please, please tell me it's some dude who happens to have the same hair and clothes as me?_

"Holy crap!" Naruto shouts, "What the heck am I doing over there when I'm over here?"

Naruto rushes back into the clinic, "Sasuke!" but the lazy jerk is still sleeping, so he hauls himself back outside to freak out next to his, his _body?_

Naruto peers at himself with avid fascination for a minute. Once he's had a bit to calm down, he realizes that maybe he didn't change clothes? Because he's wearing the same black outfit Sasuke had been, except Sasuke's wearing white now? What's going on? Why do their clothes keep changing? Was this some kind of out-of-body experience? But he had carried Sasuke into the clinic, so _what is going on?_

The glare of car headlights snaps Naruto from his thoughts. Naruto feels like crying all over again. _His Dad is the best and has the best timing ever, oh, please save me, Dad!_

Minato steps out after parallel parking the car carefully, "Naruto! What happened? Why is the driveway all cracked? What-" He stops as he gets close and notices Naruto, and the other Naruto on the ground.

His dad takes in the outfit and his body on the ground with surprising calm and gets a weird look Naruto can't decipher on his face.

Naruto wonders if he just hasn't noticed his body on the floor so he grabs his arm, well his body's arm and gives him a little wave.

"Dad I-"

Dad stops him with a soft "shhh" and a finger to his lips, "Naruto, let's take your body and go inside to talk, okay?"

Naruto nods quickly and his dad helps to carry his body back in the house. They deposit it on the couch in the living room.

His dad sits down for a second, opens his mouth, then gets up and starts digging through the cabinet for some tea leaves.

Naruto wonders for a second if he's mad, but his dad is the best dad ever and he wouldn't be like that, so he just pokes his body's cheek idly.

Suddenly, Naruto feels a pull in his stomach and when he blinks, he feels dizzy. He looks up and sees the ceiling. Sitting up, Naruto stares at his clothes, realizing he's back somehow.

Minato rushes back over, "Oh, so you got back in. That's good. Do you want some tea?"

"Oh, sure," Naruto replies, because tea is warm and generally nice. "So, before I explain what happened, can you help someone in the clinic first?"

His dad nods quickly and follows Naruto down the stairs. "Were you attacked? Was it a Hollow?"

Naruto nods and gestures at Sasuke, "He saved me, but I kind of got in his way a bit. He covered for me and now he's hurt." Naruto frowns because he hopes Sasuke will wake up soon. Also, if Sasuke wakes up, maybe he can explain some things. _Wait,_ _how did Dad know it was a Hollow? Why is he so calm? Does he know who Sasuke is?_

His dad looks him over a few times, probably searching for any injuries. Satisfied, Minato turns to walk over to Sasuke's bed.

Minato and Naruto both stare at Sasuke for a few seconds. Naruto is thinking: _it's strange that Sasuke's clothes changed from black to white_ , and Naruto has no idea what Dad is thinking.

"Okay," Minato finally says. "I think I have a general idea of what happened now. Has he had time to explain anything to you?"

Naruto shakes his head. "Is Sasuke going to be alright? Because I kind of told him earlier that he'd definitely be alright, and if he's not going to be then I'll be in trouble when he wakes up and–"

Minato smiles and nods, "Yeah, he'll most likely wake up soon. Shinigami and spirits tend to heal a little faster anyway."

Naruto processes this for a minute and thinks absently that this whole situation seems a lot like a movie where convenient things like characters healing really fast happen all the time, so who knows, maybe Sasuke will be all healed up tomorrow like a miracle and–

His dad sighs a little. "So, I think it's a good time to start explaining things." He leads them back to the living room.

Naruto nods, because he's been waiting for this, and he's hardly ever been this confused before.

"Your friend is a Shinigami. These beings live in Soul Society, a place where spirits dwell after death. Their duty is to maintain the balance between worlds and help spirits remaining in the material world, known as Pluses, to pass over. Does everything make sense so far?"

Naruto is confused why no one explained this to him before, because it seems kind of important. Kind of like one of those things everyone learns like how gravity pulls down, the Earth is a sphere, and everyone dies eventually, but he nods again, deciding to save that question for later.

"Good. The creature you faced was probably a Hollow. It had a mask and a hole in the center of its chest, right?" Naruto nods, and Minato continues, "Hollows are formed from Pluses who fall into depravity and lose their way. Hollows usually prey upon Pluses and rarely target spirits of the living. Shinigami are the only beings able to help Hollows revert to whole spirits and save the spirits they have devoured. The weapons they wield, known as Zanpakuto, have this unique ability." Minato pauses to take a sip of tea.

"I assume the Shinigami downstairs gave you his powers?"

Naruto nearly chokes on his tea in his eagerness to respond, "Yeah, but Sasuke said temporarily? Oh, I forgot to introduce him; his name is Uchiha Sasuke. Am I going to have to fight Hollows from now on too?"

Minato hesitates a little, "From what I can tell, hmm, Sasuke-kun has nearly no power left. I am not familiar with the theory behind transfers of power, so I'm not certain how long this will last. However, Naruto, you don't have to fight if you don't want to. I will make sure of that." His dad's eyes harden, and Naruto doesn't think he's ever seen him like this before.

"So, how come I've never seen a spirit or Shinigami before today?"

"Good question. I'm not sure, but I believe it could be due to your spiritual powers lying dormant in your body until you came into contact with beings of the other world. I never told you about these things because I thought you would live your life unaware of the spiritual world. I'm sorry Naruto. If I knew this would happen, I would not have hidden these things from you."

Naruto shakes his head quickly, "No, it's okay. I probably wouldn't have believed it anyway. But, why do you know these things?"

His dad blows on his tea softly and takes a slow sip before he responds. "I used to be a Shinigami too. I lost my powers, for a different reason from Sasuke-kun, and I've been living here since then."

Naruto nods and decides to change the subject. Dad sometimes got a really faraway look when he spoke about Mom and the past. Naruto wanted to know, but perhaps not today. His dad must have reasons for keeping this secret and Naruto believes in him. Also, he doesn't know if he can handle more information. "Okay, so what do we do about Sasuke? Can he stay here for a bit?"

Minato smiles quickly, "Yes, of course! If he wants to, he's welcome. I'll stay up and keep an eye on him. Naruto, you should go to bed. It's late and you have school tomorrow."

Naruto winces at how quickly his dad latches onto the subject change and resolves to give him a break. "Yeah, thanks! Good night!"

Minato smiles, "Good night, Naruto."

Naruto heads up to the bathroom and slowly goes through the motions of getting ready to sleep. Now that he's had most of his questions answered, he feels exhausted.

He doesn't want to go to school tomorrow. Naruto wants to talk to Sasuke; he wants to know more about Soul Society. He wants to know what he has gotten himself into. He–

 _Wait, I never found Sasuke's Zanpakuto!_

Naruto spits out the mouthful of toothpaste and rushes to finish gargling.

"Dad! I need to go get Sasuke's Zanpakuto! What if someone finds it and–"

Minato jerks his head up from the book he's reading next to Sasuke and shushes Naruto quickly. "He's lost his power. I can tell from his _shihakusho_. All Shinigami wear this uniform and the black color is a measure of the level of their spiritual power." Naruto blinks. So that's why he's wearing white now? That seems kind of complicated and like another really convenient thing–

"He shouldn't be able to manifest his Zanpakuto right now. Don't worry. It's not out there anymore."

Naruto sags with relief and climbs back up the stairs to finish washing up. "Phew, okay. I was really scared for a minute."

He flops onto his bed and realizes he forgot to finish his homework.

 _Eh, whatever…_

Except Naruto promised his dad he'd work hard in school and he doesn't want to fall behind. _Okay, I'll finish, then sleep._

Only, Naruto can't focus because he's kind of anticipating getting to know Sasuke. Everything he knew about the world has changed today and suddenly life seems to be a hundred times more interesting. He got to know a hidden side of his dad and now he has a new friend. Not to mention, he has cool powers now! Well, maybe only temporarily.

But Naruto knows one thing for sure. He had promised to help Sasuke in any way he can. _And he doesn't plan on ever going back on his word!_

* * *

Notes:

Hi,

Again, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)

\- DreadnoughtAqf


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke wakes up to the smell of baking bread and hesitates to open his eyes. He had a weird dream last night and he wants to remember because it was kind of pleasant but irritating at the same time.

A boy, named Naruto of all things, had saved him. Sasuke scoffs internally at his own ridiculousness as he cracks open an eye to slowly adjust to the abundant sunlight spilling through the window.

 _Wait, where am I?_ Sasuke doesn't recognize the room and as he gradually wakes up, his shoulder aches dully. _…So it wasn't a dream?_

He sits up carefully and peers at the bandages curiously. They seem to have been changed again and the wound appears to be recovering. Although, Sasuke's pretty clueless when it comes to battle injuries since this is his first serious mission and he'd never paid enough attention to the classes on _kaido_ at the Academy. That had always been Sakura's specialty. So, he really has no idea, but it doesn't hurt much, so he leaves it be.

Sasuke pulls the soft grey blanket off and slides down the side of the bed. The thin white cloth of his remaining uniform is a sharp reminder of last night's events. He feels a little stressed and harried with all the problems he's managed to accumulate in the first day of his mission.

Sasuke closes his eyes and performs a breathing exercise his captain had once taught him. Counting his breaths slowly, he ends with a final exhale and boxes his problems away for the time being.

The room he's in is large and has several short stools closely arranged around the two other beds. Sasuke takes in the numerous cabinets and neatly arranged medical supplies idly. _Naruto did mention something about a clinic_. He thinks he likes this place. It's different from the hospital in the 4th Division which always seems too white and sterile. This little clinic is cheerfully lined with translucent yellow and green curtains with numerous potted plants filling every available corner. Others dangle from the ceiling and trail their long limbs downward. Despite being in a foreign place far away from home, Sasuke feels at ease and peaceful.

A pair of orange slippers, with little frog patterns, has been laid out next to his bed, so Sasuke slips them on and pads softly to the source of the scent wafting in the air. His stomach growls unhappily.

Sasuke reaches a flight of stairs and ponders for a minute if it would be impolite to intrude. But, his stomach protests insistently, so Sasuke starts to climb up.

The moment he reaches the top of the stairs, he is nearly run over by a yellow blur. Sasuke whips his head around and grasps the handrail to avoid falling over.

"Sasuke! You woke up! How are feeling? Did you sleep well?" Naruto has a toothbrush in one hand and what appears to be a slightly wrinkled tie in his other.

Sasuke swallows twice before responding since his first attempt sounds more like croak than proper speech. "I'm fine." Then, pausing for a minute he realizes he has yet to thank Naruto for treating his shoulder. "I-, uh, thanks for-"

"Yeah, no problem! Listen, I gotta run to school, but I'll see you again once I'm out, okay? Go ahead and eat anything you want in the fridge and you can wear some of my clothes if you want. Also, the shower's over here if you want to use it." And with that, Naruto is flying out the door leaving Sasuke to stare blankly after him.

Sasuke wanders around the second floor of Naruto's house until he finds Naruto's room. He did say Sasuke could borrow some of his clothes, so Sasuke decides to take him up on that offer. Naruto's room is messy and there is a round cactus on the windowsill. The walls are covered with posters of things Sasuke does not recognize and clothes are strewn all over the floor. His desk is covered with papers and a few pencils have rolled off onto the floor. Sasuke heads straight to the closet and pulls out the first black-colored material he can find. Then, he rummages around for some pants and resolves to go shopping for his own clothes soon.

Once he is dressed, Sasuke meanders over to the kitchen. He blinks in confusion as he sees a familiar blond head puttering about.

As the figure turns around, Sasuke realizes this must be Naruto's father. "Oh, Sasuke-kun, you woke up. I'm Naruto's dad. Please call me Minato." He smiles and Sasuke wracks his brain. Something about Minato-san seems vaguely familiar, but-

"Please sit down, I've made some eggs. Help yourself to the bread. Do you prefer milk or juice? Or would you like some coffee?"

Sasuke bows slightly, "Thank you for your hospitality. Juice is fine."

Minato brings a glass over and unties his apron. "I'll be working downstairs in the clinic, so let me know if you need anything, okay?" He waves and disappears down the stairs.

Sasuke sits down and mutters a soft, "Itadakimasu," even though no one is there to hear his thanks for the meal.

He discovers that Minato-san is an impressively skilled baker and helps himself to another slice of delicious toast. As he chews, Sasuke thinks over his plans for the day. With his diminished powers, he won't be able to fend off Hollows easily. For his own protection and convenience, he should obtain a _gigai_ to blend in with other humans.

Before he'd left Soul Society, Nii-san had left him an address to go to in case he ran into any trouble. Sasuke had felt exasperated by his brother's mother-henning tendencies, but it seemed he might really need some help with his current situation.

Sasuke finishes his breakfast and scans the kitchen for some way to clean his dishes. Naruto and Minato-san were certainly nice people, and Sasuke feels the need to repay them somehow by not being too much of a burden. He doesn't know how long he'll need to stay here, and he has no idea what to do about his mission.

He tidies up the area decently and heads down the stairs to find the address Itachi had left for him. Sasuke pokes his head into the clinic and finds Minato typing records on a computer. He doesn't know if Naruto told his father about Sasuke's identity, so he decides to be as vague as possible.

"Minato-san, I'm going out for a walk around the area." Sasuke announces bluntly.

"Oh, of course! Be safe, okay?" Minato smiles and returns to his typing.

Sasuke responds with his typical, "hn," and walks off.

Sasuke picks out a pair of white sneakers which feel surprisingly comfortable, if only a little big, and heads out eagerly.

It's only as he's walked a few minutes away from the house that he realizes Minato-san, despite being a human, could see him. Sasuke doesn't get how both of them can see a Shinigami without a _gigai_ , but at this point so many strange things have happened that he doesn't want to waste any more energy thinking about this. He decides to shelve it away as some trait shared by father and son.

Sasuke is stationed in Konoha, a small town with a handy grid-system including streets organized at right-angles. He quickly gets used to the street signs and is able to locate the little shop named "Hatake Shoten" without too much difficulty.

The outside of the store appears to be a candy shop and Sasuke briefly wonders if he has come to the right place. Then, a man dressed all in black with a shock of messy greyish white haircomes over to slouch over the counter. He wears a headband over one eye and a mask covers the rest of his face from below his other eye.

Sasuke is a little suspicious and on-edge. He doesn't know why this man has 80% of his face hidden, but he gives off an overly relaxed vibe. Sasuke doesn't feel any spiritual pressure from this man, which either means he's a mere human, or he's strong enough to erase his presence completely.

The man's single visible eye crinkles, "Welcome! I'm Hatake Kakashi, the owner of this humble little shop. Is there anything I can help you find?"

Sasuke steps further inside and decides he must be in the right place after all. "Yes, I am the new Shinigami assigned to this area. I need a _gigai_ as soon as possible."

The man nods and pulls out a few sheets on a clipboard. "Then you've come to the right person! Please fill out this request form and include any modifications you would like to make to the appearance. I will take your measurements and we should be able to complete your order in a few hours." He motions with the tape measure and Sasuke takes the hint to step closer.

The man hums as he swiftly clicks the tape measure back and forth. Sasuke idly looks around the rest of the shop as he waits. The shelves are stocked with strange products seemingly tailored for those with spiritual awareness. Sasuke wonders if this shop even has a large enough clientele for all the goods stocked throughout the shop. Some of them appear to be ridiculous, while others seem like they could be potentially useful. Sasuke spots a yellow duck keychain that Sakura might like. He picks up one and ponders if he should buy a few souvenirs, maybe one for his mother and Itachi too.

Only, Sasuke realizes his mistake too late, and now the shopkeeper is pitching him sales so quickly, Sasuke feels his head pound.

"Maa, esteemed customer, it seems you have a sharp pair of eyes! This handy Zetaborutan is filled with electromagnetic restraining beads. Simply throw one and instantly escape when attacked by Hollows! Might I also recommend Katakoran Alpha; the perfect anti-spirit spray for fending off possessive spirits. Or perhaps you might fancy Katakoran Theta which has all of the benefits of Alpha for nearly the same price, but including a healthy dose of vitamin C with each spray? Or, for times when you don't want a spirit following you, such as the when using the bath or toilet, simply rely on Sekirei X-"

Sasuke quickly shakes his head, thinking he might very well end up penniless if he stays here too long. "I only need a _gigai_ , Hatake-san. Will it be ready in the afternoon to pick up?"

The shopkeeper's eye squints into the strange eye-crinkle again, and Sasuke absently dubs it as the "eye-smile" in his head. "Why of course! Please, call me Kakashi. I hope we can build a long-lasting relationship."

Sasuke nods because he'll continue to be stationed in Konoha until the next newbie Shinigami in need of training comes along. This shopkeeper seems resourceful and Sasuke has a feeling he shouldn't get on the wrong side of him. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Sasuke dips his head and Kakashi does the same.

"Well then, Sasuke-kun, I'll get started on your order. I'll see you in a few hours!" Kakashi slips into the back of the store and Sasuke takes this as a chance to hurry and leave before he gets talked into buying anything else.

As he walks away from the shop, he hears Kakashi laugh along with another person. "Come on, Obito! Help me get some supplies for a new order? I'll get lost on the road of life again if you leave me alone."

Hi,

Thank you for reading this new chapter! I think I might have written Sasuke a little out of character in this section. He's a little too polite isn't he? Although, I think if he grew up differently, his character would change slightly, but I'll try to keep him in character a bit more in later chapters.

Anyway, let me know if you have any suggestions for ways to improve my writing! :)

\- DreadnoughtAqF


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto rushes out of the classroom to hurry home. "See you later, Kiba and Shino! You too, Hinata!"

He runs out the gates of Konoha High and sprints back home in record time.

"I'm home!" Naruto exclaims as he opens the door. He peaks around the corner to see his dad chatting with a patient, so he bounds up the stairs to find Sasuke.

He spots Sasuke sitting at the table snacking on a tomato. He's wearing Naruto's old hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Seeing Sasuke in all black reminds him of last night and all of his questions come surging back to the front of his mind.

Sasuke looks up from his tomato, "Oh, you're back."

Naruto grins and pulls the seat across from him out. "Yeah, I wanted to ask you a lot of stuff!"

"Hn." Sasuke doesn't say anything else, so Naruto takes it as a confirmation.

"Okay, so first, I want to know how long I'm gonna have this power. Does it just slowly go away, or do you take it back?"

Sasuke frowns a little and seems to glance forlornly at his tomato before setting it down on the plate in front of him. He looks up and Naruto thinks that maybe he imagined that last part, but–

"First, I'll explain from the beginning. I am a Shinigami and we are the beings tasked with maintaining–"

Naruto holds up his hands and makes rapid cutting-off motions, "Wait, I already heard this spiel from my dad. He was a Shinigami before, he explained all of this to me last night."

Sasuke furrows one of his eyebrow at Naruto, "What? Your father was a Shinigami?" He makes a confused face and Naruto thinks he's processing information, but he just looks kind of sulky. It's kind of funny because so far, especially when Sasuke first showed up, he spoke like reading lines from a play. But since this morning, Naruto thinks he's been able to see a more genuine side to him.

"Anyway, he told me about Hollows and what you guys do mostly. I just want to know what I'm supposed to do now. Can I help spirits too? Because I, I think it would be great to be able to help them cross over and stuff." Naruto stares at Sasuke and hopes he can channel his eagerness to help through his stare. Because he's helped out in the clinic before, and unfortunately, they can't always save everyone. But if he can help them pass on in this way….

Sasuke looks kind of surprised, but Naruto doesn't really understand why. A long silence stretches between them and Naruto fidgets a little.

Sasuke steeples his fingers in front of his face and broods. "You can. I- I mean, I don't know. What I did last night probably goes against the laws of Soul Society. I don't think I can take the power back even if I wanted to. As of now, I can't complete my mission, so if you say you want to help, then that would mean exterminating Hollows. However–"

Naruto beams, "Oh, really? I thought you'd say no for sure! That's so cool Sasuke! Teach me how to fight then! I know a few moves because I've gotten into fights before, but–"

"I'm not finished." Sasuke's eyes harden and something unreadable flits across his gaze. "Exterminating Hollows is dangerous, and I can't guarantee your safety. You're going to have to train hard before I let you fight anything. This isn't some game and I don't want you doing this out of curiosity. If you are careless, you'll die."

Naruto grins right back, "Got it! When do we get started?" He doesn't say any more than that because he has a feeling Sasuke's not the type of person to be swayed by words. Naruto needs to show he means it by hisactions.

Sasuke nods, seemingly satisfied for the moment. "I have an errand to run first, but we can get started after I come back." He picks his tomato up from the plate and resumes eating like he and Naruto didn't just have a _really important_ conversation.

"An errand? Can I come too?" Naruto's mind whirls for a moment as he tries to remember if he has the spare time to be running around after Sasuke when he needs to study for finals, but he's really excited right now so he wouldn't be able to focus either way. "I mean, you might get lost and stuff since it's your first time in town? Or have you visited Konoha before?"

Sasuke shakes his head as he finishes off his tomato. "This is my first time in the Material World."

Naruto's eyes widen eagerly, "Really! That's so great! I'll show you all my favorite places around town! Like, Ichiraku, and cheap clothing stores and-"

Sasuke rolls his eyes in annoyance, "Fine. We need to patrol anyway." He gets up and moves to rinse his plate off.

"Wait! I can wash it for you! You're the guest in the house." Naruto reaches for the plate.

Unfortunately, Sasuke's reflexes are impressively fast and Naruto's fingers grasp thin air as Sasuke jerks the plate up out of his reach. "No, I don't need your help! I'm being provided for right now, so I might as well do what I can." Sasuke hisses like a particularly miffed housecat.

Naruto whines childishly, "But Sasuke, I promised I'd help you out in any way I could! You have to let me do this for you!" He attempts another stealthy swipe for the plate, but Sasuke's eyes catch the movement; he ducks away just in time.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitches in irritation, "No! I refuse to rely on you for everything. I'm not useless. You idiot, I don't need your help with this!"

"But, if it's something so simple I can definitely do it for you! You said this was your first time in the- the Material World, right?"

"That– that doesn't mean I haven't ever washed dishes before! In fact, when I first joined the 13th all I did was dishes and laundry!" Sasuke blurts as he continues to evade Naruto.

Naruto pauses. Sasuke seems to process what he just admitted, and he colors similarly to the tomato he devoured minutes ago.

Sasuke shoves the plate at Naruto in defeat. "Fine, I'll let you do it this time." He huffs softly and leans against the counter.

Naruto blinks as he processes this new information. "So, Shinigami do normal things like chores too?" He smirks as he waves the plate at Sasuke for some more satisfaction before drying and stacking it with the rest of the plates.

Sasuke glares, "What did you think? All of us were just spirits to begin with, and we live similarly to you humans when we aren't carrying out specific duties." He tilts his head toward the stairs and starts to go down. Naruto quickly follows him, delightedly realizing Sasuke's letting Naruto accompany him on the errand.

Although, Naruto feels a little disappointed that Sasuke has regained his composure. It's pretty fun to rile him up. "So, what's the 13th? Is it some group or something? Are there lots of Shinigami?"

Sasuke nods. "Yes, the 13th refers to the 13th Division. We belong to an organization known as _Gotei 13_. It is composed of 13 imperial guard divisions, and each is led by a captain and supported by a lieutenant. From there on, each division includes seated officers who hold ranks starting from 3rd to 20th. The size of every division varies; however, on average each includes approximately 200 Shinigami, with the Gotei 13's standing force totaling to just over 3,000 enlisted troops." Sasuke stops abruptly and ends with a sour look on his face.

Naruto thinks that the Shinigami seem awfully like a military. "So what seat are you?"

Sasuke mutters something in the other direction and Naruto latches on immediately.

"Ehh, what did you say? I couldn't hear just barely."

Sasuke scowls, "I'm unseated right now. I just got out of Shin'o Academy last year."

He seems more upset than Naruto had anticipated, so he lets it go. "Huh, so Shinigami go to school too? That's cool! Do you live with your family–"

"We're here," Sasuke interrupts. "I need to purchase something for you as well."

Naruto perks up at this news, "Hmm, sounds great!" He looks up at the storefront. It's a cozy looking little shop, but for some reason he's never noticed it before even though he frequents this area often.

A brown-haired lady opening boxes behind the counter looks up as they step through the front candy section. "Welcome! I'll be with you in a second!"

Naruto stares unabashedly at all the various products as they wait. "Hey Sasuke, what are you buying?" He flips a few stacks of little cards around.

Sasuke slaps his hand away with an agitated look. "Don't touch anything and don't reveal needless information," he whispers.

Naruto has to hold in a laugh at Sasuke's seriousness. "Okay, okay, I got it."

"Hello, and thanks for waiting! My name is Nohara Rin; you must be Uchiha Sasuke, right?" The lady smooths wrinkles from her professional-looking black top away and pulls out a slip of paper from the white apron-skirt she's wearing. She hands it to Sasuke and gestures for them to follow her. "You're in luck. We've just completed your _gigai_ , so if you'd like, try it on before you leave. If there are any last-minute adjustments you'd like, we can also do our best to cater to your needs." She smiles and slides a door open to a long hallway.

Sasuke dips his head slightly. "Thank you, Nohara-san. I appreciate the promptness with which my order has been handled." Naruto snickers at Sasuke's politeness and gets a sharp elbow in his gut.

"Of course! And please, call me Rin. I heard from Kakashi that you'll be staying in the area for a bit? Oh, and who is your friend here?"

Sasuke glances at Naruto who jerks up from holding his stomach to beam at being addressed with impressive speed. "This is… Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto waves, "Hi Rin-san! It's nice to meet you!"

Rin waves and moves to lead them down the hallway, "You as well, Naruto-kun." She slips her shoes off and Naruto and Sasuke follow suit.

The design of the back of the store is like a traditional Japanese house, and Naruto admires the cozy atmosphere. The building didn't appear to be nearly so large from the outside though, so Naruto wonders why there seem to be so many rooms.

A guy with spiky dark hair and eyes almost as black as Sasuke's pokes his head out of a room a way down the hallway. Unlike the lady guiding them, this guy is dressed lazily in an orange t-shirt and capris. A pair of orange-tinted goggles dangle from his neck. "Yo, Rin! You brought the customer with you?"

Rin's smile widens and she ushers them over. "I'll introduce you! This is Obito. He and Kakashi worked together to finish your _gigai_. Obito, this is Sasuke-kun, our client, and his friend Naruto-kun."

The man introduced as Obito slides the door open all the way and grins when he spots them. "Hey kiddos, come in! Kakashi's putting some finishing touches on right now."

Rin steps to the side to let them enter the surprising spacious room. "Oi, Kakashi! Sasuke's here to pick up his _gigai_! You done or what?" Obito calls.

Some shuffling is heard and a man, probably this Kakashi, shoves the _shoji_ aside with enough force that the neat grid frame of paper door cracks against the end of the wall.

He waves one hand tiredly in a beckoning gesture, "Sasuke, come here and try it on."

Sasuke nods, striding over quickly. Naruto doesn't know him well enough to read his expressions entirely yet, but it looks like he's a combination of impatient and nervous.

Naruto is left standing in the larger room with Rin and Obito in a soon-to-be awkward silence. He scratches his cheek as his recalls Sasuke's instructions to stay quiet and contemplates whether he should bother to follow them.

"So, you're the human he gave his Shinigami powers to?" Naruto jerks his head up like a deer in headlights to stare at Obito as he tries to formulate a response.

Rin glances disapprovingly at him, "Where are your manners, Obito? Naruto-kun, you can ignore Obito's question if you'd rather not talk about it."

"No, it's fine!" Naruto shakes his head rapidly and blurts, "But how did you guys know? What– are you guys Shinigami too?"

Rin seems amused and she and Obito share a look before she speaks. "We aren't Shinigami, but we are spiritually aware, like you are."

"Yeah, and we felt your huge _reiatsu_ last night! Man, that was some pressure," Obito chips in. "And, in case you haven't noticed, you're kinda leaking all over the place right now."

Naruto flushes at the implication but is mostly confused. "What? I'm- I'm leaking? What do you mean I'm leaking?" he demands worriedly.

Obito leans back against the wall, "Well, simply stated, you don't have any control over your own power, probably because you have a ton of spiritual energy, so you're exerting a pressure that others like us can sense," he grins, "like this."

Naruto is confused for a second, but then he feels something almost like a ripple in the air. Like he's walked into a sauna, but the temperature hasn't changed. Yet it's harder to breathe and–

"What's going on?" Sasuke rushes back out and flashes across the room to Naruto's side. The pressure subsides and Naruto slowly relaxes. Sasuke bristles and pins a heated glare at Obito like he's incredibly offended and is going to lunge any second–

"Maa, there's nothing to worry about, Sasuke." Kakashi saunters over and ruffles a hand through Sasuke's hair like he's smoothing down the fur of a cat on edge. Sasuke swats it away with mild vexation. Naruto notices distractedly that the duck butt shape springs back up defiantly. "Are you sure you don't want to add some customizations? I'll even give you a discount and we could–"

"No." Sasuke rudely cuts off. He turns to Naruto and grabs him by the lapel of his school uniform, "You didn't just spill everything did you? I leave for two minutes and–"

"Wait, but they already knew! It wasn't– I didn't say anything before!"

Sasuke lets go and grimaces, shifting his glare to Kakashi. "Tch, I should have known."

Kakashi eye-smiles amicably, "I'll make some tea. Let's all have seat and talk this out, alright?"

Rin ushers them to the low circular table as Obito pulls it over to the center of the room. She smiles at him, "I believe Obito has something he needs to say before we begin." Obito proceeds to pale dramatically and nods quickly.

He scratches the back of his head abashedly, "Sorry, Naruto. I shouldn't have done that so suddenly."

"No, I'm fine, really!" He sneaks a glance at Sasuke who kneels stiffly next to the table and plops down next to him. "I just got a little surprised, that's all."

Rin nods, "The reason why Obito brought it up is because we wanted to offer you some help with learning how to be a Shinigami, Naruto-kun."

Naruto hears Sasuke shift forward to speak, but he's really confused, so he rushes to beat him to it, "I thought you said you guys weren't Shinigami though?"

"That's right. We were _Onmitsukido_."

* * *

Notes:

Hi!

Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you liked it! I had a bit of fun writing this chapter and I'm really looking forward to introducing more characters. :) I'm going to try to move the plot along a bit faster soon. If you have time, please let me know what you liked or things I could improve!

\- DreadnoughtAqF


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke barely registers as Kakashi walks in with tea and sets down the cups in a neat semicircle.

His mind whirls as he connects the dots. Kakashi's absurdly tight control of his spiritual pressure, and this shady shop that catered to Shinigami, yet wasn't officially authorized by Soul Society. _These three were deserters._

 _Onmitsukido,_ the covert ops, was a strict, clandestine organization parallel in power to the _Gotei 13_. He'd heard the rumors before. Shinigami of the _Gotei_ trained to fight Hollows; _Onmitsukido_ trained to fight against Shinigami.

The current Corps Commander was Shimura Danzo, a ruthless leader who went through subordinates like disposable chopsticks. Sasuke's cousin Shisui had worked a brief stint there before transferring out. Sasuke had heard him speak of deserters before. The dark nature of _Onmitsukido_ work often proved too much for new recruits to handle and the organization was constantly suffering from high turnover rates.

Shisui had said _Onmitsukido_ did the thankless work of Seireitei, and that higher-ranking members would gain many enemies throughout their career. But, more importantly, _Onmitsukido_ was an organization that ran on secrets. The higher one climbed in the organization, the harder it was to get out. Hardly any Shinigami retired from _Onmitsukido_ successfully. Sasuke had heard they nearly always disappeared within a few months after leaving the organization, but no one had ever confirmed it to be true.

Hence, members used to desert all the time, until Danzo implemented the use of curse marks. From then on, desertion became punishable by death.

If these three were deserters, they must have been left Soul Society to avoid pursuit. Then, _what could they possibly want with Naruto?_

A tall teacup filled with steaming tea is shoved in his face. Sasuke snaps out of his thoughts immediately and accepts it grudgingly.

"Hello? Earth to Sasuke? Have you heard anything this past minute?" Obito grins obnoxiously and Sasuke thinks he must have missed something rather important for him to be this amused.

Obito's face crumples and he curls in on himself with a jerk. Sasuke assumes Rin must have done something because he notes that Kakashi is gone and Naruto is oblivious.

Rin clears her throat delicately and smiles at Sasuke. "Now Obito, I'm sure Sasuke-kun's just surprised to hear we were on the same team as Minato-sensei. Naruto-kun, we'd like to apologize for leaving you and Sasuke-kun to handle those Hollows alone last night. We didn't anticipate that it would turn out to be this way, so we simply want to do whatever we can to help as a way of apology."

Sasuke blinks a few times as he takes in Rin's words. _Minato-sensei?_ Naruto's father doesn't strike Sasuke as a powerful _Onmitsukido_ squad captain, but maybe that's what his enemies thought too.

Sasuke sneaks a glance at Naruto as he sips the tea, absently deciding that it's probably safe, since these three could have killed them in two seconds flat if they'd really felt like it. He grimaces as the slightly tart aftertaste of the cheap green tea lingers in his mouth.

He thinks Naruto should be allowed to decide for himself before he offers his opinion. While he's still somewhat suspicious, Sasuke trusts his gut feeling that Rin's offer is genuine. Honestly, Sasuke had agreed to train Naruto on a whim even though he'd criticized Naruto for deciding to help on a whim in exactly the same moment. So, Sasuke feels a bit bad, but he's not about to apologize.

Sasuke doesn't have any idea how he's supposed to teach Naruto to become a Shinigami. His idea of learning is to go through the Academy material, but he knows it's horribly impractical and potentially useless in a real fight.

If Rin, Kakashi and Obito are willing to make Naruto into a proper Shinigami, then Sasuke doesn't have any complaints. After all, Sasuke only graduated from the Academy last year. He hardly has any experience to boast about and he knows he's a terribly impatient teacher.

At the same time, Sasuke feels it is his duty to help Naruto with his powers, since Sasuke not only gave his word, but also was the main cause for this whole issue. So, he has qualms over shirking the responsibility.

Kakashi returns with two bright orange popsicles wrapped in flimsy clear plastic. Sasuke stares in confusion for a second, and promptly realizes Naruto burned his tongue on the tea carelessly while simultaneously concluding that Kakashi is oddly considerate to have gotten ice for him.

"Aw thanks! You're the best, Kakashi-san!" Naruto exclaims, reaching over to grab one from Kakashi.

Kakashi does his eye-crinkle thing and offers one wordlessly to Sasuke. Sasuke declines and Kakashi shoves it at Obito.

The next few minutes pass like this: Naruto excitedly devours his popsicle while Obito questions Kakashi on how much milk they have left in the refrigerator. Rin patiently drinks tea. Kakashi responds by stating that he only opened the freezer and didn't bother to check the refrigerator since he was only getting the popsicles. Obito doesn't reply because he's too busy clutching his forehead in pain from a brain freeze. Sasuke's eyebrow twitches with impatience. This entire conversation is taking too long, and he has already exceeded his social interaction quota for the next three months.

But the world decides to take pity on Sasuke and Naruto's face settles into a serious expression.

"I want to help the spirits. I can't believe I couldn't see them before. But now that I can, I'm going to do my best to help them out! So, as long as Sasuke's okay with it, I'm up for any training I can get!" Naruto glances at Sasuke.

"Hn. As if you need my permission," he huffs.

Naruto's mouth pulls into that radiant smile of his which Sasuke suspects is more contagious than tuberculosis because suddenly Obito, Kakashi and Rin are all smiling as well and Sasuke's own mouth feels twitchy. It must be the _gigai_ , Sasuke lies to himself.

Naruto and Rin excitedly discuss a schedule and Obito pours more tea for everyone. Kakashi slumps against the table lazily as he blows at his tea and–

They all feel it at the same time. The familiar sensation of revulsion infused with almost desolate melancholy that never fails to accompany the appearance of a Hollow. Like the overwhelming _wrongness_ of nails screeching down a chalkboard or the flutter of asphyxiating discomfort from sudden freefall.

Yet, in the next second, its signature flickers out just as abruptly.

Sasuke jerkily sets his tea down. "What was that?" He's never heard of a Hollow retreating so quickly… _unless someone took it out._

Rin looks up with a soft frown. "That, is the other problem we need to discuss."

Sasuke nods and Naruto perks up in interest.

Rin glances at Obito and he takes the hint to start explaining. "Sasuke, do you know of the Quincy?"

Sasuke's brain stalls for a good twenty seconds before he manages to recall what that name means. "Are you implying this town has a Quincy? That's impossible! They were all wiped out since more than two hundred years ago." He feels like he can't keep up with this town. Why can't Konoha let him catch a break? What's going on with this place that Sasuke has to deal with all these problems even though he's–

Kakashi props his head up on his elbow. "Yup, there's a few Quincy residing in Konoha. Before, Soul Society wasn't aware of them because they never revealed themselves. Though, recently, one of the youngsters has reached his rebellious stage." He fixes Sasuke with a contemplative look. "What are you going to do about it?"

Sasuke was confused before, but the answer to Kakashi's question seems simple, "Stop them and bring them back to Soul Society. They can't purify the souls of Hollows so–"

"Wait, wait! Somebody explain to me what a Quincy is first." Naruto interrupts, seemingly even more lost than Sasuke.

Rin refills Naruto's tea, "The Quincy were a race of spiritually aware humans who had a powerful bloodline. They could manipulate spiritual particles to their advantage and use it to fight hand-to-hand. Their Byakugan gave them visual insight and they could disrupt the body's spiritual pressure network, causing internal damage. Quincy could also absorb _reishi_ , free spiritual particles in the air, and unlike Shinigami, they are not limited by _reiryoku_. Quincy can continue in battle until they run out of stamina or can no longer absorb ambient _reishi_." Rin pauses, likely assessing Naruto's expression.

"Are you still with me? Does everything make sense?"

Naruto scratches his head, but nods.

Rin opens her mouth to speak again but Obito interrupts. "Okay Rin, I'll explain the rest. This kid won't remember all of that tactical stuff you're explaining anyway." He shifts closer to Naruto. "The way Quincy use to kill Hollows destroys their souls completely, so they can't be purified. Because of this, the Shinigami got upset. The number of souls was decreasing, and this screws up the balance, so they went and told the Quincy to stop. But either they didn't do a good enough job of explaining why, or the Quincy refused, so the two sides ended up at war and, long story short, the Quincy got wiped out. The problem is, now there's a punk running around the neighborhood killing Hollows. He's probably your age, Naruto." Obito swivels and pins Sasuke with a dark look. So, Sasuke, you said you're going to bring him back to Soul Society, but have you thought about what will happen to him if you do that?"

Sasuke falters. He exactly hadn't thought about that. None of the protocols he's learned even mention Quincy and he had thought they were all extinct until about two minutes ago.

Naruto slings an arm around his shoulders and Sasuke is startled out of his thoughts. "It's cool, I'm sure we can reach a proper agreement as long as we talk it out! I'll make sure to explain it to them! Do you guys know who he is?" Naruto looks… almost giddy for reasons Sasuke can't understand.

Rin brightens up at Naruto's idealistic suggestion and Sasuke feels doubtful. "His name is Hyuuga Neji. He–"

"Wait, did you say Hyuuga?" Naruto jolts and leans forward.

Rin nods in confirmation. Naruto grins, "That's great! I've got this in the bag! I'm great friends with Hinata, oh, my friend at school, and I'm sure if I convince her, she'll be able to help talk him out of it!"

Kakashi straightens up a little from where he's slouched over the table. "Alright then. Let's sic Naruto on the Quincy and see if we can't fix the problem. Then we'll try your idea, Sasuke."

Sasuke feels rather miffed at the idea that Naruto thought of a better plan than him, but he has to admit that he doesn't like his plan either, so he concedes with a "hn."

"Great, now that we've addressed all the issues, let us adjourn the meeting!" Obito drawls sarcastically.

"Kakashi, you wouldn't happen to have any _Gikongan_ on hand, would you?" Sasuke asks as they migrate back to the front of the shop. He takes a quick look outside and notices the sky has been dyed a warm orange hue. The sun is setting, and Hollows will be more active in a few hours.

"I'm glad you asked! I received a new shipment just yesterday. Would you like to specify any customizations? In fact, I'll even offer a special promotion for both you and Naruto–"

Sasuke shakes his head as Naruto starts to look curious. "Just any two that you have on hand. I don't care what dispenser either."

Kakashi nods and pulls open a drawer from the front desk. "I have this one from the previous shipment and here's one from the newer shipment." He pulls out two dispensers to accompany them.

One is Chappy, the most popular Soul Candy, and the other is one Sasuke doesn't really recognize but has a frog head as the dispenser.

Naruto immediately snatches the frog one, so Sasuke is left with the pink rabbit dispenser. "Kakashi, can I have the receipt? The 13th should reimburse me for mission expenses." Sasuke holds his hand out expectantly and Kakashi folds the receipt neatly into a rectangle before handing it over.

"As usual, it was a pleasure doing business with you! Don't let Soul Society know about us though!" Obito snickers as Sasuke pockets the brightly colored dispenser.

Naruto smiles and waves as they leave and Sasuke dips his head as little as he can, precariously balancing on the edge of polite and impudent.

As they head back, Naruto walks with a spring in his step and Sasuke finds himself sharing in his enthusiasm a little. He had started his mission with a disastrous mistake, but somehow things are looking up slightly.

Naruto pauses in his step and Sasuke comes to a stop as well. "Hey Hinata!" He waves exuberantly and a girl wearing the same uniform with long, dark hair turns around. "Hinata! Hey, you're just the person I was looking for!"

He smiles eagerly and the girl stutters, "N-Naruto-kun!" Her face reddens and she promptly swoons.

* * *

Notes:

Hello!

Thank you for reading this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you enjoyed it too!

\- DreadnoughtAqF


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto dashes up to catch Hinata before she falls. He's not quite fast enough, but he manages to pull her up to a sitting position. Naruto's not really sure, but he's kind of worried because Hinata probably has anemia with how often she seems to pass out all the time. He conveys this to Sasuke but for some reason he looks doubtful. They check Hinata's groceries to make sure nothing has been smashed or broken in the fall.

Luckily, Hinata wakes up after a few seconds and gathers her fallen groceries with a small smile. "S-Sorry, Naruto-kun. I was just surprised to see you." She looks down shyly.

"Are you heading back home? I'll walk you back in case you feel faint again!" Naruto offers. Hinata shakes her head vigorously and waves her hands in front of her in declination.

Naruto feels slightly dejected but perks up as he remembers Sasuke. "Oh, this is my new friend, Sasuke. Sasuke, this is one of my best friends, Hinata!" Hinata's face turns even redder at his statement and Naruto ponders if she has a fever. Maybe talking to her about Neji can wait until she's better?

"I'm Hyuuga Hinata, it's nice to meet you, Sasuke-kun." She smiles and bows politely with all of her usual grace.

Naruto watches amusedly as Sasuke mimics her bow. "Likewise."

Sasuke gives him a questioning sidelong glance but doesn't say anything more. Naruto guesses he's noticed Hinata's last name and connected the dots.

Naruto decides he's accomplished a lot today, so he's going to work on the "Help Neji Plan" tomorrow. "Hinata, want to meet up to study tomorrow at my place? I gotta ask you something!"

Hinata's pale skin, which had been slowly returning to its usual color, flushes again. Naruto is concerned. Maybe he'll make some soup or something for Hinata in case she's still sick tomorrow. "Y-yeah, of course! I'd love to. Should I come at the usual time?"

Naruto nods his confirmation happily. "Then I'll see you tomorrow! Hurry up and get home to rest so you can get better!" He pats her between the shoulder blades twice and grabs Sasuke's hand as he runs off, waving goodbye.

Sasuke is glaring at him for suddenly running, and he yanks his hand back once they've traveled a reasonable distance. "Why did you leave in such a hurry? I thought you were going to talk to her about that Hyuuga Neji?"

Naruto grins sheepishly, "Yeah, but I don't know, Hinata seemed kind of sick so I thought we'd better talk about it tomorrow instead. Plus, it'll be Saturday and we can talk more openly at my house."

Sasuke seems to get his reasoning and his frown slowly fades.

Naruto starts walking back in the direction of home and Sasuke follows leisurely. "Also, I'm not really sure, but I think Hinata's allergic to something on me." Sasuke throws him a really weird look like Naruto's said something hilarious but his pride won't let him laugh or something. Or, maybe Naruto's just imagining it. "I'm serious! Did you see how red she got when I moved close to her? I wonder if it's one of the plants we have. I hope it's nothing serious though, because I feel kind of bad for her. Hinata already faints a lot because of her anemia." Naruto turns his head toward Sasuke to gauge his expression.

To his utter surprise, Sasuke is nearly doubled over a few feet back and he's making some soft wheezing sounds.

Naruto is alarmed and anxious as he rushes to Sasuke's aid. "Sasuke! What's wrong? Does your stomach hurt? Can you still breathe? What's going on– Is it your shoulder? Did your shoulder get infected?"

Sasuke's hair is covering his face and he's bent over at such an extreme angle that Naruto can't tell what's wrong, but Sasuke sounds like he's in pain and _he has to do something–_

Sasuke's breathing slowly evens out as he covers his mouth. Naruto's really worried now. Has Sasuke eaten lunch properly? What if he got food poisoning? Does he feel like he's going to throw up? Maybe it was that tomato-

"Naruto, I feel bad for Hinata too." Sasuke uncovers his mouth, grinning and Naruto realizes that _Sasuke's laughing at him!_

"You bastard, I was so worried about you and it turns out you were laughing this whole time? Sasuke! Why do you laugh like a crying old man? What's up with that!"

Naruto expects Sasuke to spit back some retort, but he looks back and Sasuke is _still laughing_. He's laughing so hard he's trailing behind Naruto and still wheezing between peals of laughter.

Naruto throws his hands up in the air in mock despair. Obviously, he's somehow managed to break Sasuke.

"Come on, you jerk! Let's go home already! I want to eat ramen for dinner. I'm gonna leave you behind if you don't stop laughing!" Naruto threatens as he grabs Sasuke's hood and attempts to drag him back.

Sasuke snickers a bit more, "I'm impressed with your observation abilities."

Naruto doesn't know if this is supposed to be an insult or a compliment. He tries to think of a witty retort, but nothing comes to mind. Instead, he gets an idea.

"Alright, Sasuke! I'll race you back! The loser has to do one thing the winner wants!" With that, he bolts off without waiting for Sasuke's response.

"What? Naruto! Fine, you're on!" Sasuke yanks his hands out of the hoodie pocket and sprints after him.

In the end, Naruto wins by a slight margin because he was more familiar with the streets, and had a head start. Their cheeks are flushed from exertion and both of them are gasping for breath as Minato opens the front door.

"Oh, you're back." He smiles and lets them in. Naruto sags against the wall like a deflated balloon while Sasuke opts for a more dignified slump on the stairs. "Sasuke-kun, how has your shoulder been? Do you want me to check it before I leave?"

Sasuke shakes his head and catches his breath. "I think it's gotten better. Thank you."

Naruto pulls himself up a little, "Dad, you're going out? Did you have dinner already?"

Minato shakes his head, "I'm meeting with some colleagues at a restaurant. I'll probably be back late, so there's no need to wait for me."

"Oh, cool. Have fun! See you later!" Naruto stands back up to help hold the door open.

Sasuke gets up as well and seems to remember his manners. "Have a safe trip," he says as Minato waves and gets into the car.

Naruto shuts the door and locks it carefully. He looks at the time and sees it's nearly 6:00. He does feel kind of hungry from all that running, so he decides he'll do his homework tomorrow when Hinata comes over. "Hey, Sasuke? Want to go look for something to eat?"

Sasuke gives him a curious look, but nods in agreement. Naruto ambles over to the kitchen and begins his search for his cup ramen. He pulls open the cupboard and pushes a few bags of chips into Sasuke's arms as he digs around.

He glances back, because he would have expected Sasuke to have made some comment by now, but instead, he finds him staring at all the junk food Naruto has been pulling out. "What, do you guys not have these things in heaven? Because if you don't, I've lost some faith in the afterlife."

Sasuke scowls, "We do. It's just, my family is strict and-"

"What! Are you serious? Oh man, Sasuke, you're going to have a great time here! Dang, I can't believe you've been so deprived." Naruto chuckles as he finally spots the cup ramen that Dad must have spent some effort in hiding. While Minato usually doesn't mind other snacks and junk food, he's extremely careful with the cup ramen. Because, really, Naruto would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if he could. "Yes! Sasuke, what flavor do you want?"

Sasuke eyes the packaging curiously and turns a few over to read the labels. Naruto picks out a mild beef curry noodle one and fills the kettle with water to boil. Then, he rummages around a drawer for the big packet of dried seaweed sheets.

"Do you really just add water?" Naruto looks up and spots Sasuke looking slightly skeptical. He is holding a brightly colored cup. The label cheerfully read, "Red HOT Spicy Chicken 10x Hotter than before! Eat this and you'll breathe FIRE!" It also featured a poor white chicken with two chili peppers crammed down its mouth. Naruto pales slightly as he realizes it's the one Kiba gave him two of last month as a practical joke. Naruto had tried one before, and– well, to say the least, his tongue had been numb until the next morning. He'd been avoiding it ever since and had been fully resigned to letting a perfectly good, albeit too spicy, package of cup ramen to go to waste. But Naruto is a great friend, and if Sasuke wants to try it, who is he to stop him?

"Yeah! Here I'll show you!" Naruto grabs his own and tears the packaging carefully. He pulls the paper tab on the top and skillfully lifts it away to the proper halfway position.

Naruto giggles as Sasuke messes up and rips his paper like an amateur. They fill their cups and Naruto hands Sasuke a pair of chopsticks to cover the top so the noodles can cook.

Sasuke settles his chopsticks neatly on top of his Red HOT Spicy Chicken noodles and Naruto sits impatiently, waiting for three minutes to be up.

"Oh, hey, Sasuke? What is this thing, anyway?" Naruto pulls out the little froggy PEZ dispenser Sasuke had bought for him from Kakashi earlier.

Sasuke looks kind of thoughtful for a moment, "It's popularly known as Soul Candy, but the official name is _gikongan_. They contain artificial souls which are to be used in combination with _gigai_. Since Shinigami cannot be seen by regular mortals, we typically wear a _gigai_ , or faux body, to perform interactions. The artificial soul is used to leave the _gigai_ and it will take care of your body while you're fighting."

Naruto fiddles with it a little and as he presses the top, the froggy spits out a round green ball. Sasuke points at it, "You just swallow this to use it."

"Huh, that's convenient. So, you're wearing a fake body right now?"

Sasuke makes a face at the word "fake" but concedes. "I had one custom made because I can't use the collapsible _gigai_ I brought with me without my power." Naruto feels rather curious now, but before he can say anything else, he realizes it's been three minutes! He rips the paper top off completely and adds some seaweed. Because Dad says vegetables are important. "Here, you should add some too." Naruto shoves a few at Sasuke like a good host feeding his guest properly.

Sasuke takes them delicately and arranges them like a little fan around the edges of his ramen. He blows on it gently while Naruto digs in with avid gusto. But then Naruto remembers Sasuke's ramen flavor and he pauses to stare with great anticipation as Sasuke lifts the noodles to his lips.

Naruto masticates idly as he waits gleefully for Sasuke to run to the faucet for water. "So, is it good?"

Sasuke frowns a little, "I thought it would be stronger. But it's not bad." Then, he goes back to eating like those noodles weren't the spiciest thing Naruto had ever put in his mouth.

Naruto feels a new grudging respect for Sasuke in a way he never thought he would.

They finish their ramen and Sasuke helps to clean up the mess Naruto made of the pantry. "Hey, Sasuke, so, are we going to patrol the town and stuff tomorrow? How do you tell if there are Hollows?"

Sasuke pauses in his arrangement of the tuna cans. "Obito said he and Rin would handle the Hollows for now until you're trained decently. In exchange, I need to leave them out of my report to my captain. I don't know if I trust them completely but leaving the Hollows to them shouldn't be a problem." He crooks an eyebrow at Naruto. "Hollows aren't difficult to sense. They give off a certain unpleasant pressure but detecting anything in general is probably too much for you."

Naruto pouts, "What, why? How do you know I can't?"

Sasuke shakes his head, "Your spiritual pressure is smothering the presence of everything else around you. I can hardly sense anything next to you either." He resumes stacking cans as Naruto processes this.

"Huh. Well, I guess that makes some sense. Wait, have the Hatake Shoten guys, and Rin, always been taking care of Hollows since before you came along?"

"No, Konoha's jurisdiction lies solely with my division. My predecessor handled Hollow extermination and he never reported of any news regarding Hatake Shoten's existence. Neither did he ever notice the existence of any remaining Quincy." Sasuke grimaces. "I can hardly believe any of this is a coincidence. Especially since Itachi told me to go there–" He cuts himself off abruptly.

"But aren't we pretty lucky that they'll fight off the Hollows?" Naruto prompts.

Sasuke turns and stares unabashedly. "And there's you too."

Naruto frowns. He feels oddly like he's lost track of the conversation somehow, and he can't seem to tell if Sasuke is insulting him in a new roundabout way or not. "What? Me? What's wrong with me?"

Sasuke shakes his head. "Minato-san seems familiar, but I can't recall who he is. I've never met Kakashi's group, so they must have left before I was born, or perhaps when I was younger. But then there's you. You awakened your spiritual awareness, what, a few hours at most before I arrived in Konoha. Then, soon later, a spirit is attacked in front of your house and a second Hollow appears that I couldn't sense…"

"What, are you saying I'm suspicious too?" Naruto squints his eyes at Sasuke grumpily.

Sasuke stares off into space in that way Naruto has noticed he tends to when he's deep in thought.

But then he cracks a microscopic smile. "Well, that's impossible. You don't have the brains to plan a scheme like this. I'm probably overthinking it."

Naruto grins back, happy that Sasuke seems to no longer be troubled. "Hey, do you want to sleep in my room? You probably don't want to stay in the clinic forever, right? I've got an extra mattress and I'll clean my room!" He rushes off before hearing Sasuke's reply and goes to set things up.

Now that he's certain Sasuke's going to stay for a bit, he's kind of excited! His new friend is going to teach him new cool things about his power and every day will be like a sleepover. As soon as finals are over, Naruto's going to have the best summer break! He has so many questions and he's just so curious about Sasuke's life and Soul Society and Shinigami stuff.

But first, he needs to clean his room. _Haha. This is going to take a while_.

* * *

Notes:

Hi!

Thanks for reading! I was opting for a more lighthearted mood in this chapter, but I promise there will be more plot in the next one. :) I hope you had some fun reading it!

\- DreadnoughtAqF


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke sinks into the creaky mattress and stares up at Naruto's ceiling. The pajamas Naruto gave him are soft and warm, albeit eye-searing orange. His shoulder feels better, and he feels is very comfortable and tired. Sleep beckons Sasuke and he wants nothing more than to not open his eyes again for another ten hours.

But Naruto refuses to stop chattering in his ear. "Hey Sasuke, so, I was wondering, what your school's like! Do you guys have grade levels too? And, do you take tests? Do they train you to fight with your cool swords and stuff?"

Sasuke groans and rolls over to face Naruto who has moved his mattress level to Sasuke's. Then, he comes up with a surprisingly nice idea. Hopefully this will shut him up for a minute. "Give me a piece of paper. A small one."

Naruto nods enthusiastically and pulls out a little orange square from his, now clean and orderly, desk. "Yeah, does a sticky note work?"

Sasuke examines it and discovers there is indeed a sticky portion to the top of the paper. He folds it down and finds the other side is smooth. _Interesting_. "Concentrate your spiritual pressure to one point and focus on holding this to your forehead. This will help your control." He demonstrates by placing it flat under his bangs and keeps it there without his hand. Sasuke feels relieved that his powers have been slowly recovering. He'd feared they would never return for a bit–

"WHOA! That's like magic! Wait, did you just glue the sticky note to your forehead without the sticky side? This is like, awesome! I'm gonna show everyone–"

Sasuke flicks the paper at Naruto in an attempt to quiet him down. Honestly, Sasuke just wants to sleep. Why does Naruto need to be this energetic?

He glances up to check Naruto's progress. The paper bursts into pieces and Naruto's jaw drops. Sasuke's eyebrow twitches. He's never seen anything that extreme before.

"Oh, oops. I guess I went a little overboard." He sheepishly scoops up the little pieces and grabs a new sticky note.

Sasuke nods. At least he knows what he did wrong. Maybe Naruto isn't hopeless after all. "Precise control of spiritual pressure is important in many techniques." He's reminded of when Captain Iruka had first showed him this exercise before he'd joined the 13th. He smugly reminisces about how far he's managed to come. Water-walking had been rather hard for Sasuke to master. Perhaps Naruto will be able to do that one day.

"Hey, Sasuke! I got it! Look!" Naruto points excitedly to his forehead.

Sasuke's shocked. He'd assumed Naruto's control would be worse than his own in the beginning. How could he succeed with only two tries? Naruto must be incredibly talented to achieve–

"Just kidding! I stuck the sticky part to my forehead. Haha, you totally fell for it!" Naruto clutches his sides laughing his head off as he rolls back and forth on his mattress.

Sasuke fumes. And exacts petty vengeance by kicking Naruto in the shin through his blanket.

"Hahaha, Sasuke you kick like a girl!" Naruto teases as he puts the note back on his forehead.

Sasuke begs to differ. If he kicked like Sakura, Naruto wouldn't have a left leg anymore.

"Whatever. When are you going to do something about Hyuuga Neji?"

Naruto pauses. "Hm, I think I'll tell Hinata about it all first, then I don't know, maybe I'll talk him out of it."

Sasuke feels doubtful. This whole plan seems very flimsy. "What, then if it doesn't work, what are you going to do?" He rearranges the heavy blanket around his feet because it's almost summer and Naruto's room is hot–

"Well, then I'll fight him until he submits like in a movie or something!"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at Naruto. "Yeah, well I don't foresee you winning any fights at this point. In fact, your friend Hinata could probably wipe the floor with you right now," he remarks dryly. After meeting her earlier, Sasuke had noticed the carefully controlled movements of Naruto's friend, and Hinata's spiritual presence was very subtle, thus, most likely suppressed to some degree.

Naruto, surprisingly, laughs. "Ha! Totally! Hinata's super pro with martial arts. She could kick your butt too, Sasuke!"

Sasuke considers this carefully. "Hn. So, we can assume Neji is no ordinary fighter either."

Naruto mutters a "hmm" noncommittedly, like this is some insignificant detail and he can get through anything with enough guts and enthusiasm.

Sasuke shrugs. It's not his problem right now. He lies back down and resolves to stare at Naruto struggle with his paper until he falls asleep.

Sasuke wakes to voices animatedly conversing. Minato-san is back. Seeing the little silhouette of the cactus as he looks toward Naruto's window, Sasuke concludes it's morning. Sasuke notes pleasantly that he doesn't feel any stiffness in his body as he gets up.

He trods over Naruto's unmade bed and pulls a soft grey shirt out of Naruto's closet. Naruto's frame is a little larger than Sasuke's and he's more well-built too. He checks his shoulder vaguely and decides it's pretty much healed. Sasuke shrugs his arms through the quarter-length sleeves and looks around for the pants he wore yesterday. He can't find them, so he assumes Naruto had placed them in the laundry when they were cleaning yesterday. Then, he looks over and finds an enormous bag of neatly folded clothing, socks, and underwear. Sasuke grabs the neon green sticky note and realizes it's from Obito. He suspects Rin had a hand in this since the clothes are not only practical, but unexpectedly nice looking. As he digs through the stack, he finds another note. This one is from Kakashi and Sasuke looks down to see it's a receipt. _Hn. Why does this not surprise me._

Still, Sasuke is grateful for their help and he will try to remember to thank them the next time he visits.

Although Sasuke studied the names and types of clothing articles before his mission, he's not used to the design of clothing from the Living World, so he would have had a hard time shopping for himself.

Sasuke dresses swiftly and swaps the grey shirt for a white one with three black stripes running vertically down the side. He puts Naruto's shirt back in his closet. The dark blue jeans he picked are rather stiff to move in, but everything fits him perfectly. Sasuke almost pauses to wonder why but then he recalls that Kakashi and Obito literally made him a body, so how could they possibly mess up on clothing measurements?

As Sasuke comes out of the bathroom he hears Naruto. "And so Sasuke taught me how to stick the post-it note on my forehead without using the sticky side! See! I finally got it this morning!"

Sasuke comes in to the kitchen to see Minato-san standing near the coffee machine and Naruto arranging plates. He notes that Naruto's not wearing his school uniform and is instead dressed in a grey v-neck with the sleeves rolled up. The word "HAPPY" is scrawled artfully in slanted letters cutting a diagonal line across the front. Sasuke offers a "good morning" to both of them and walks over to Naruto.

Minato turns around and waves. "Sasuke-kun, did you sleep well? We can move you to another room if you'd like?"

Sasuke shakes his head, "I don't mind. Naruto's room is fine." Naruto passes him a plain bagel slathered with enough cream cheese to form a visible layer between the two pieces and Sasuke eyes it incredulously.

"Sasuke, I got it down! I can stick it to my forehead for 5 minutes!" Naruto preens and Sasuke bites into the bagel to give himself some time to formulate a compliment.

Minato brings his coffee over to the table and sits down. He leans over to ruffle Naruto's hair. "Great job, Naruto! Keep up the good work!"

Sasuke watches and he's happy for Naruto, but deep inside, he can't help but feel a stab of envy. How many years has it been since _his father had said anything similar to him_? Uchiha Fugaku has only every expected excellence and Sasuke will never be enough–

"Sasuke-kun, you must be a great teacher for Naruto to make this much progress! I would have liked to help, but I lost my powers many years ago. So, thank you for deciding to make Naruto into a proper Shinigami and thank you for saving Naruto's life." Minato beams and Naruto mirrors his expression.

Sasuke thinks the morning sunshine is a bit too bright for him today. No words come to his mouth for a minute, because Sasuke's never received such straightforward praise before, and Minato-san sounds so incredibly genuine. Sasuke feels something warm floating inside him, like delicate, glassy, golden bubbles of sunbeams.

So, he wants to express this, but Sasuke is unfortunately inept in accepting compliments gracefully. He feels flustered, "I-, Naruto was the one who did all the work."

Minato laughs lightly in amusement. "Even so, thank you for taking care of my son." He pats Naruto on the head affectionately and sips his coffee.

Naruto chews on his own bagel and Sasuke vacantly notices his has even more cream cheese. "Dad, Hinata's coming over to study today. I think I'm gonna grab some groceries before she gets here so I can make something for lunch. Do you want anything?"

Minato shakes his head. "Actually, I'll be leaving for a business trip soon. The meeting last night was the discuss the details and I'm going to be working with another colleague on our presentation for the committee today."

Naruto pouts, "Oh, you're so busy recently. Hey, maybe by the time you're back I'll be a super cool Shinigami!"

Minato laughs again, "I won't be gone that long!" He finishes his coffee and places his plate in the sink to wash. "I'm leaving in two weeks and I'll be back by the middle of June."

Naruto nods and Sasuke makes note of the date absently. They finish breakfast and Sasuke washes the dishes this time. As he's drying, he watches Naruto write his list of groceries.

"Hm, Sasuke, what do you think I should make for lunch? What do you like to eat?"

Sasuke shrugs. "Tomatoes."

Naruto snickers. "What, you want to just eat tomatoes for lunch? Anything else?"

"Anything is fine. I don't care."

"Okay, I think I'll add some tomatoes to a salad and make congee. Alright! Sasuke, want to come grocery shopping with me? We can buy some snacks if you want?"

Sasuke is somewhat curious and he has nothing better to do, so he figures he might as well. "Sure."

The streets are quiet and uncrowded as they walk to the supermarket. Naruto shops with surprising efficiency and they navigate through the store swiftly. But as they're about to check out, Naruto stops in front of the freezer section. Sasuke takes in the sheer number and variety of ice cream and feels grudgingly impressed.

"Hey, Sasuke, want to get some ice cream? It's getting kind of hot recently, anyway. What flavor do you like? Wait! Don't say tomato!"

Sasuke snorts, "Whatever. I'm not fond of sweets."

Naruto looks crushed and he swivels to pin Sasuke with a hurt expression. "What? No, who doesn't like ice cream?"

He turns toward the freezers and continues to deliberate for a bit. Sasuke looks back at their cart full of eggs, various fruits and vegetables, a plump bag of rice, two cartons of milk, a bottle of soy sauce, many boxes of snack foods and thinks this will be painful to carry back.

Naruto finally decides on a little pint labelled, "mulberry sorbet" which Sasuke thinks is a pleasing shade of violet. Naruto pushes their cart toward the cashier stations. "Hinata likes this one a lot I think," he explains.

The tired looking cashier mutters a greeting and rapidly fills three paper bags with their items and leaves the rice out. Naruto grabs the sack of rice and settles it under his right arm as he picks up the heavier bag of milk. Sasuke moves to grab the other two bags, but Naruto stops him for a second.

"Is your shoulder going to be alright? Sorry, I didn't think of it earlier. I can probably carry three–"

Sasuke huffs, "It's practically healed. This is nothing." He grabs the bags and they head back to Naruto's house.

Sasuke's heavier bag consist of a carefully selected cabbage, a few stalks of green onion, two cucumbers, a jar of strawberry jam, and some fruits. The other is filled to the brim with light cardboard and plastic packaged snacks. He's holding the lighter one with his left arm to keep his shoulder from being strained. Sasuke is rather impressed because that sack of rice Naruto's holding is easily ten kilograms and the cartons of milk can't be light either.

They make it home and Minato has already left. The smell of bread reaches Sasuke's nose and he spots a tray of cooling bread rolls. Minato-san is inherently a man of many talents.

Naruto organizes food in the refrigerator and the doorbell rings. "Hey, Sasuke can you get the door? It's probably Hinata."

Sasuke sets the eggs down carefully and goes down the stairs past the clinic to open the door. He struggles with the locks for a minute and finally pulls it open. Light spills into the hallway and Sasuke is about to greet Hinata when he spots a guy with long brown hair and pale lilac eyes standing beside her.

He's a few centimeters taller than Sasuke and his expression is aloof with an air of conceit. He stares down his nose at Sasuke and sneers, "So, you must be the new Shinigami."

He, Sasuke thinks, must be Hyuuga Neji.

* * *

Notes:

Hi!

Thank for reading this chapter! I'm finally getting close to the part I really want to write so I'm really happy. :) Also, I changed my username.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for ways I could improve my writing! I will do my best to keep them in mind.

\- bluewindfall


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto is tidying up the kitchen area so they can study when Sasuke stalks in with a scowl with Hinata trailing after him. And Neji. _What._

To say Naruto can't comprehend things right now would be an extreme understatement. Still, Naruto was raised with good manners, so he smiles amiably as he walks over with a bowl of grapes and plump cherry tomatoes.

"Hey, Hinata! Is this your cousin? I don't think we've met officially before! I'm Naruto, in case you didn't know." He reaches a hand out to shake since Neji seems like an all-business kind of guy.

Neji does shake his hand, and his grip is strong; his hand feels very calloused. "Uzumaki Naruto, I've heard things about you from Hinata."

Naruto laughs a little awkwardly, because the air suddenly feels stagnant and _why is this situation so weird_?

"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry, I didn't let you know Neji Nii-san was coming along." Hinata bites her lip, clearly upset.

"Well, it's nice that you both could come over!" Naruto assures, hurriedly. "Neji, are you in the grade above us?"

Neji nods and they all sit down, Sasuke next to Naruto, Hinata across from Naruto and Neji next to Hinata. And of course, Sasuke glaring across at Neji. _Can't forget that…. Geez, so awkward._

"Yes. I hope it means I'll be able to be of help if you have any questions." Neji replies.

Sasuke stuffs a few cherry tomatoes in his mouth and blatantly ignores the conversation. Hinata glances back and forth between the three of them nervously and bites her lip with concern.

Naruto opens his mouth to talk about the weather or something as he kicks Sasuke discreetly under the table. "Yeah, since our last tests are on Monday–"

"I think we should get to the point and stop wasting time." Sasuke interrupts. Naruto sighs, because he's finally saying something, but now the air of the room has shifted from awkward to a sharp, charged tension not unlike the buildup of static electricity and Naruto feels like he's suffocating. "Stop killing Hollows or I'll be forced to report you to Soul Society where you'll most likely be executed along with the rest of your family."

Naruto feels his own eyes widen in shock and Hinata pales significantly. "Sasuke! This isn't like how we planned! What are you doing? Stop threatening him!" he hisses in Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke glares at him but stays quiet.

Naruto scratches the back of his head and tries to do some damage control. "Err, what Sasuke is trying to say is that we think you should leave the Hollow exterminating to us since you can't purify the souls."

Neji has stayed impassive this entire time, but his face contorts angrily at Naruto's words. To which, Naruto is confused, because he would have thought that Sasuke's words were worse than his, but obviously he doesn't know Neji well enough.

"And why should I care if they are purified or not?" Neji goads.

Hinata looks very uncomfortable now, and Naruto is scared Sasuke's going to lunge across the table and strangle Neji right here and now with how pissed he seems.

See, across from Neji, Sasuke looks like a carved marble statue. But Naruto can tell he's super close to blowing up by the way his hands are twisting under the table.

Naruto needs to say something, "Ah! That's a good question! It's because the souls of the Hollows won't be able to go to Soul Society if you–"

"Even if they've murdered other spirits and even living people? Are you saying they equally deserve to rest in peace too?" Neji cocks an eyebrow at Sasuke.

Naruto feels a little stumped. He doesn't want to fall for Neji's ploy and end up arguing ethics. That's not what this is about. This is about Neji and Hinata's safety–

But Sasuke falls for it hook, line and sinker, "The souls Hollows devour are unable to find rest if they are destroyed along with the Hollow. By killing them without a Zanpakuto you're depriving them of their afterlife."

Neji nods. "Okay, so you're saying they deserve to go to Soul Society even if the Hollows don't necessarily. That makes sense. Now, Shinigami, tell me if this afterlife of yours is really so much better?" He crosses his arms and leans back.

"Neji Nii-san, what are you saying?" Hinata sounds a little distressed but confused at the same time.

Naruto is also confused. What's he talking about? Isn't Soul Society practically heaven?

Sasuke steeples his fingers in front of his face. "Where did you hear this from?"

Neji sneers, "I didn't need to hear it from someone. An organization as corrupt as yours cannot possibly run a proper afterlife system. Not when you let innocents die and slaughter without discrimination."

Sasuke frowns, "The idea of afterlife being perfect is a human construct. We had no hand in creating this idea. But I can't stand by when you accuse us of things we haven't done." His fists clench as he struggles to stay calm.

Naruto glances at Hinata nervously and Hinata shakes her head almost imperceptibly. _Okay_ , Naruto decides to watch for a bit longer. At least the conversation hasn't devolved to a fistfight yet.

"When I was seven, I watched my father as he was murdered by Hollows and the Shinigami squad sent to exterminate them stood by making bets about how long he would last." Neji spits out his story like poison. "Just because he was a Quincy. My father once told me he thought we could work together with Shinigami and I believed him for a while. But now I see he was naive. In the end, there's no way for us to avoid conflict. We are two antipodes meant to clash so long as we continue to exist."

Sasuke rises from his chair. "So, you think that makes it okay for you to slay Hollows without our permission? If the Quincy had never ruined the balance, we would never have retaliated in such a manner."

Neji gets up too and he slams his hands on the table. "You're speaking of the massacre two hundred years ago. And you think it's fine to trade the lives of the living for the souls of the dead? Is that what this is about?"

"What do you know–"

Naruto can't take any more of this. "Sit down, both of you!" Surprisingly, Sasuke looks a little guilty and they both back down. "I don't know what's up with the long history between Quincy and Shinigami, but that doesn't matter right now." Sasuke jerks his head up to interrupt, but Naruto pushes on. "You're both your own people. You don't have to live as just Quincy and Shinigami, you're more than that! Things that happened so long ago shouldn't be forgotten, but if you keep killing Hollows the way you are right now, Neji, you'll be on the same level as those Shinigami who killed your father."

Neji looks stunned, and Naruto thinks smugly that maybe his public speaking skills have improved. He forges on, "In the end, you guys will only continue this cycle of pain and hatred with these acts of revenge. With this generation, you should make amends and work so that those tragedies never happen again. Neji, your father would never have wanted this for you, and think about it this way; if you kill Hollows and destroy the spirits they devoured, they will never get to be with their families in Soul Society. So, what if it's not perfect? I'd give anything to be able to see my family again after I'm dead."

A short silence stretches, elongating and looping. Naruto absently wishes Neji hadn't come today and wonders why he had to find out that Naruto and Sasuke were planning on meeting with Hinata to talk about him.

Neji clears his throat, "It looks like you were right about him, Hinata. Uzumaki Naruto, if you really mean what you've said, then I want to see you back up your words with actions. I want to challenge you to a competition. If you win, I will do as you want regarding this matter."

"Neji Nii-san, Naruto-kun could never beat you in a fight. It's not fair to challenge him like this," Hinata protests.

Naruto stops to take a breath before he responds. He knows he can get hot-headed sometimes and he doesn't want to be too hasty.

But Neji beats him to it, "You're right. But this isn't about our individual abilities. My challenge is a Hollow-slaying competition. I will gather Hollows with bait, and we'll see who can take out the most within the time limit."

Sasuke slaps a hand on the table, "Naruto, you don't have to accept. He's not in any position to be–"

"No, it's fine. Neji, I'll accept your challenge as long as you accept my terms too."

"Let's hear them first then."

Naruto swallows dryly. He knows Neji is strong from what Sasuke and now Hinata have said. But it's not his nature to give up before he's had a chance to try. Naruto has a responsibility to do as much as he can to fulfill his promise to Kakashi and Sasuke. He said he'd convince Neji, so he's going to do just that.

"First, we can't endanger any other people." Naruto pauses. Neji nods in affirmation so he continues, "Second, like you said, if I win, you'll stop killing Hollows. Finally, I want you to give me two weeks to prepare for the contest. You'll have the same amount of time to prepare, so I think it should be fair."

Neji scoffs, "I accept. I'm assuming you're okay with this, Shinigami?"

Naruto blinks, confused by who he's addressing, but Sasuke responds quickly, "Fine, you better be ready to lose because Naruto's going to wipe the floor with you."

Naruto stares in disbelief. He hadn't expected Sasuke to hold such confidence in him.

Neji stands, "My business here is finished. If you'll excuse me, I'll see you in two weeks at the same time."

Hinata stands as well but Neji waves a hand at her to stay. "I apologize for interrupting your studying, Hinata, Naruto."

And with that, he leaves.

Naruto sags in his chair as the tension disperses. "Ah man, I don't know if I can do this. Guess I'm gonna have to train really hard once summer break starts."

"You can do this, Naruto-kun! I'm sure if you put your mind to it, there's nothing you can't do." Hinata says gently, reddening a little.

Hinata has always been on his side and Naruto is really grateful for her support right now. It gives him another reason to do his best. He doesn't want to disappoint her.

"She's right." Sasuke blurts out. Naruto gives him a look of awe and Sasuke hurries to correct himself, "I meant for this contest. I thought of something just barely and the odds should actually be on your side. Neji's in for a surprise."

And wow, Naruto thinks he can feel his confidence welling up.

"Aw, now that we're done with this all this discussion, I think we should actually study!" Naruto says brightly. He rushes up to his room and brings his stack of textbooks down.

Hinata smiles and pulls out her chemistry textbook. "Yeah, we do have tests on Monday."

They settle into studying various things while Sasuke watches with a bored expression while picking through the bowl for all the cherry tomatoes. The tranquil silence is interrupted by the occasional soft shuffling of paper and the scratching of pencils.

Hinata clears her throat delicately. "So, Sasuke-san, I've been meaning to ask, what is Soul Society like?"

"Oh! I've been wanting to know too!" Naruto exclaims, bored of studying after sitting still for only thirty minutes.

"Just Sasuke is fine." Sasuke mutters. "Soul Society is complicated. No one knows how long it has existed and why it formed in the first place. I don't mean why Shinigami keep order and balance between the souls of the living and dead, I mean why spirits are meant to reside in Soul Society and how Hollows make it to _Hueco Mundo_ on their own."

" _Hueco Mundo_? What's that?" Naruto asks.

"It's just where stronger Hollows stay. I've heard it's like a cold desert devoid of any life, but hardly any Shinigami have been there before. Anyway, Soul Society is mostly made up of _Seireitei_ and _Rukongai._ _Seireitei_ is where Shinigami live and run things. _Rukongai_ is where souls reside. The central districts are most well off and the further out you go, the more desolate everything becomes. Like I said, many things about souls remain uncertain. We don't understand the pattern to where souls will appear in _Rukongai_ and there is not much we can do to provide for them all. My clan as well as several others have been working to provide relief and building infrastructure in the outer districts, but the progress is slow. There are too many souls and not enough resources."

Hinata perks up in interest. "Your clan?"

Sasuke nods. Naruto thinks he looks kind of smug. "The Uchiha clan is the largest of the four noble families in _Seireitei_ and our lineage is the oldest and most powerful in Soul Society."

Naruto is confused. "Wait, lineage? Like, you were born in Soul Society? I thought only dead people go to Soul Society. How does that work?"

Sasuke rolls a tomato around on the table idly. "Yeah, new souls can be born in Soul Society. We make sure to maintain the balance appropriately anyway. In fact, all of the noble families are new souls from what I know."

Hinata tilts her head and props her cheek on her elbow. "The Uchiha are the most powerful?" She prompts curiously.

Sasuke smirks, "Yeah, because we have a bloodline ability, it's like your Byakugan."

"Really? What does it do?"

"It's called Sharingan. I'm not allowed to describe into the details to anyone outside the clan, but it gives us instantaneous foresight in battle."

Naruto leans forward, "So you can see the other guy's moves before he makes them? That's pretty neat! Hinata, what's yours do?"

"We can see through things and our vision reaches very far away as well. It's useful for scouting, mostly." She replies modestly.

"Wow, both of you must have super cool genes. Hey, so Sasuke, I want to know more about what happens to souls when they go to Soul Society. Do they get to live with their families?"

Sasuke's expression sours a little. "Well, most spirits actually lose their memories of their pasts. That's why we organize them into family units so they can live together. In the rare event that a soul does remember, they can file documents for assistance to go search for their family members. Spirits age at different rates, but in general, we have a longer life expectancy than the living. Thus, most spirits that do remember are able to be reunited with their families eventually."

"Hmmm, so spirits have life expectancies too?" Hinata ponders.

"Eh? Then how old are you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "I'm 158 this year."

Naruto chokes on his grape and Sasuke blinks at him with concern. "What? You're so old!"

Hinata's laughing now, and Naruto doesn't know why she's not super shocked too. Sasuke looks like a teenager!

Sasuke sniffs, looking slightly miffed. "Well, Minato-san is probably over 300 years old, so I don't know why you're so surprised."

Naruto's jaw seriously drops this time. "Uh, I think I'm in shock right now." He clutches his heart dramatically and is rewarded with some amusement from Hinata. "I'm gonna go make some lunch to recover. You guys want something to drink in the meantime?"

He turns around and nearly trips in surprise.

A spirit in a school uniform stands in the middle of the kitchen, but as Naruto looks to her feet, she's levitating half a meter off the floor.

"Hello, Shinigami-san, my name is Haku. Would you please help my friend?"

* * *

Notes:

Hi,

I'm almost getting past the exposition, so I'm really excited to write the next few chapters! :) I hope I haven't written Neji too strangely though. His character is difficult to grasp. I feel like I'm trying to mix his younger self with the really cool Neji from later and I don't know if I've managed to get his personality down well. I'd love to hear some suggestions if he's out of character.

Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter!

\- bluewindfall


	9. Chapter 9

Sasuke allows himself a few seconds to think through the files he'd memorized of information on the souls residing in Konoha. "Haku? As in, Yuki Haku, correct?"

Haku nods and the chain on his chest sways with the movement.

Sasuke walks over to stand next to Naruto. He remembers receiving Haku's file. A recent, tragic death with surprisingly strange complications. "You're the one who has a _Tsukirei_ bound to you. The one who was driving, Momochi Zabuza."

Haku's calm complexion turns sorrowful and the warmth of Naruto's house seems to dissipate softly like breath in the night of winter. Sasuke winces internally at his own tactlessness and he quickly nudges Naruto to remedy the situation. He hadn't meant to upset Haku, but Sasuke didn't want to make things worse, so….

Naruto appears to gather his wits and he gestures at the kitchen table. "Uh, Haku, do you want to sit down and tell us about your situation?"

Haku's face brightens a little at Naruto's hospitality and delicately floats over to sit at the end of the table between Naruto and Hinata. The chains tinkle and sag loosely. Hinata smiles encouragingly at Haku and Sasuke does his best to imitate this and Naruto settles back in his chair, patiently waiting for Haku to begin.

Haku is composed and his tone is unexpectedly gentle. He might just be the most collected spirit Sasuke has run into in the Living World. "My name is Yuki Haku. I was 15 years old when I died in a car accident last month. The crash was between our car and a drunk driver. My friend, Zabuza was driving when we were hit in a head-on collision. Neither of us survived. I do not blame him, but Zabuza-san will not forgive himself. He hasn't been able to move on and it is painful to watch him be tormented by guilt in this manner." Haku pauses in his explanation and looks down at the table grievously for a few seconds.

The atmosphere is heavy and Sasuke watches as Naruto and Hinata each process the information at different paces.

Hinata's eyes are downcast and she appears sympathetic, but a little shaken. Naruto is similarly sad looking, and it brings Sasuke back to when he first met a new spirit arriving in Rukongai. To witness the reality of death at such an unadorned threshold was unnerving.

Haku has been quiet for a minute or so, and Sasuke decides he can explain the rest of the situation. It might be easier on Haku that way. "Yuki-san, I am Uchiha Sasuke, the Shinigami tasked with this area. If you don't mind, I will explain the specificities of your case to the rest of them," Sasuke waves a hand impolitely, indicating Naruto and Hinata because he's not about to introduce them; it's a waste of time, and Haku gives a nod of affirmation.

"First, spirits unable to move on to Soul Society by themselves are ones with regrets which bind them to this Material World. This is seen as a manifestation of an extension of their Chain of Fate." Sasuke points at Haku's chains. "In general, we classify them by two types: _Jibakurei_ which are bound to a place and _Tsukirei_ which are bound to a single person." Sasuke pauses, sweeping the table, checking for any confusion. They all seem to follow along decently, so Sasuke continues.

"However, this case is different. Momochi Zabuza is indeed a bound soul, but he is tied to two points. He is tied to Yuki Haku's grave and he is tied to Yuki Haku's soul."

Naruto wrinkles an eyebrow, but nods. Haku's expression has saddened again, but there's nothing Sasuke can do about that for now.

He continues, "The problem is, your Chain of Fate is getting short. You had four links when you first showed up and I've been watching this whole time, but you only have three now. If it corrodes entirely, you'll become a Hollow."

"But, Sasuke-san, there seem to be a lot of chains on Yuki-san?" Hinata prompts.

Sasuke nods. He gestures at the center of his own chest. "The Chain of Fate connects a soul to their body. When they die, it's severed, and they can no longer return to their mortal body. Souls with severed chains are known as Pluses. If they are unable to move on by themselves, we will usually help them by performing _Konso_. However, the Chain of Fate continues to corrode as the soul remains in this world. Once it is completely gone, the soul will turn into a Hollow, meaning their heart has fallen into depravity. The chain in the middle of Haku's chest is his own Chain of Fate. The other chain belongs to Momochi Zabuza."

Sasuke stops as Naruto sets down a glass of water next to him. He sips some gratefully and fumes internally at how much explaining he's had to do in these past few days. This mission wasn't supposed to involve nearly this much talking.

"As I explained earlier, Momochi Zabuza is bound to Yuki Haku's grave and his soul. In the case of a soul which has regrets binding it, the Chain of Fate will manifest by tying the spirit to the object of their focus. The chains around Haku are Momochi Zabuza's. What's wrong is that Momochi Zabuza is the one who is inadvertently preventing Haku from moving on. At this rate, Haku will turn into a Hollow within a few hours. The last few links always go the fastest. Furthermore, Hollows tend to be drawn to attack those who have been important to them in their past. If we can't force Momochi Zabuza to let go of his guilt in time, Haku will turn into a Hollow and likely prey on Momochi Zabuza's soul."

Sasuke finishes, and he looks up to see four distraught faces. He'd only been trying to convey the urgency of the situation, but it seems that the reaction wasn't quite what he intended.

Naruto gets up from his seat, "Alright! Let's go talk some sense into your friend, Haku! I promise we'll have you both on your way to Soul Society before it comes to that!"

Haku looks visibly relieved and he smiles, bowing in thanks. "I would be most grateful if you could help us both move on."

Sasuke sighs. Naruto is more charismatic than he could ever be. He hopes the situation with Zabuza will be resolved as easily, but he has his doubts. If Haku couldn't convince Zabuza in the months' time he'd had, how could they possibly hope to in only a few hours?

Hinata nods, "Yeah, I'll be rooting for you Haku-san!" She reddens a little. "You can do it, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto beams, "Thanks Hinata! Let's go then!"

Sasuke shrugs. He doesn't care who comes with as long as his job gets done. If the two spirits turn into Hollows, he'll get Obito or somebody to cut them down. It's a far less elegant method, but it works, and the soul gets purified anyway. Plus, Sasuke's _reiryoku_ hasn't recovered completely and he doesn't want to replete it yet. And, Sasuke doesn't want to force Naruto to fight Hollows he knows the identity of.

Naruto pulls on his arm and whispers in his ear, "Hey, Sasuke? Is Haku a guy or a girl? Because Haku's wearing the boy's uniform, and you said 'he', but he looks so pretty! I swear, he totally looks like a girl! Are you sure he's–"

Sasuke smacks him lightly on the back of the head in irritation, "I memorized his file before I left." He turns to walk away and Naruto frowns at him petulantly.

Hinata glances over with a questioning look, but Naruto waves off her concern and they catch up to Haku who leads the way.

Sasuke follows behind Naruto and Hinata as they sort of half jog, half run to the cemetery.

Instead, he broods silently. Naruto is lucky to have such a composed spirit for his first case. Sasuke had been forced to deal with three inseparable bawling eleven-year-olds during the Academy when they'd been training to perform _Konso_. When he'd complained to Suigetsu, he'd been irked to hear that most other students had received assignments to, well, less troublesome spirits.

Sasuke is startled out of his thoughts as Naruto and Hinata come to a stop. Haku points wordlessly and they all spot Zabuza immediately.

Really, he's hard to miss. Momochi Zabuza is a rough looking spirit and, most importantly, he's angry. The chains are pulled taunt around him and he kneels before Haku's grave in anguish. Another figure, holding a black umbrella stands with his back to them, facing Zabuza. The stranger seems to be _aware_ of Zabuza's presence. In fact, he's staring straight at him and Sasuke is immediately wary. Exactly how many anomalies does Konoha have?

"Haku, who is that?" Sasuke demands.

Haku shakes his head, "I don't know, I've never seen him before. Regular mortals can't see us, can they?"

Sasuke feels panic well up as he spots the figure drive a cane at the hole in Zabuza's chest. Sasuke activates Sharingan and commits it to memory. He needs to report about this later. But first, they need to stop this person. He doesn't know who this stranger is or what he thinks he's doing, but Zabuza will become a Hollow at this rate. This man needs to be restrained at the very least. Sasuke gauges the situation and–

Haku flashes between them in mere seconds, shoving the cane away as he kneels beside Zabuza.

"Hey! What were you doing? Can't you see it was hurting him?" Naruto rushes over to the man as well. Sasuke doubts he has even a sliver of plan, but Naruto's the perfect distraction either way.

Sasuke quickly gulps down his _gikongan_ , "Hinata, I want you to circle around and cover the back. I'll flank from the left and we'll coordinate with Naruto to surround him."

Hinata nods quickly, inferring his plan and dashes off discreetly.

Sasuke grimaces as he runs in a wide circle toward Naruto's direction, weaving behind the gravestones as he cushions his footsteps with _reiatsu_ to muffle the sound. The cemetery is too quiet, and every movement seems to reverberate in the eerie silence.

Sasuke had blurted out this haphazard plan with too little thought. The situation mirrored a scenario he'd faced with a few squad members before but now Sasuke realizes, he has no idea what this man's abilities are and there's no way to tell his skill level from the lack of spiritual pressure.

Sasuke ducks behind a gravestone and peers around the corner, he manages to catch a glimpse of the man as he searches for Hinata's position. The man is tall, and he's dressed in baggy black clothing. Not even a centimeter of skin shows from under his clothes and gloves. And he wears an eerie orange mask with a swirl centering on a single eye hole.

Sasuke draws his Zanpakuto. This man is like a shadow, so silent and still that all sound seems to be devoured in his vicinity, nearly without presence as he stands before them. If Sasuke could not see him in the light of day, he'd never believe someone stood right there; it is disconcerting and obscure.

And it frightens Sasuke.

True power is controlled; it is tightly coiled and wielded with absolute precision. Sasuke instinctively knows, this man is deadly.

He's made such a grave mistake. He should have gone to Hatake Shoten for help. He's underestimated this man and Sasuke can't believe he's sent Hinata out; _he needs to get them out of here_.

"Hmm, I would presume you are Uzumaki Naruto?" His voice is deep, but calm and almost gentle. Something about it seems unbelievably _familiar_ to Sasuke.

"Yeah, what about it? Do you want something from me?"

The man takes a step forward. "Yes, in fact I do."

He turns, almost faster than Sasuke can follow and shoves at the hole in Zabuza's chest with that strange cane of his, brutally twisting down. Zabuza cries out in pain, chains rattling as he writhes and Sasuke fears it's far too late. He abandons the plan he'd spouted to Hinata and rushes to the spirit's side, intending to forcefully perform Konso before he can fall to depravity, but the chains begin to dissolve and Sasuke swings his Zanpakuto down on thin air.

 _No!_ Sasuke spins around, alarmed. He'd never expected Zabuza to change so fast. Just what had that man done? And, now, somehow, he's disappeared right before Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke needs to protect Haku from the becoming a Hollow too but what is this man after? Is he going to attack? Can Sasuke even stand a chance against him? He needs to regroup with Naruto and Hinata–

Out of the corner of his vision a black blur extends and Sasuke darts away, rolling to avoid the strike as Zabuza reveals himself. The white mask leers down and Sasuke's stomach drops as he realizes it's too late, he's _too late!_ And fog slowly gathers, pooling around Zabuza's gigantic form as Sasuke barely evades Zabuza's smashing limbs, searching furiously for the stranger and _where is Naruto?_

Sasuke is slammed sideways into a gravestone, elbow cracking harshly against the cold stone as he scrambles to the left to avoid the next blow. Zabuza's Hollow form is fast and nimble for its size. The fog is messing with Sasuke's vision and his Sharingan is not giving him sufficient input to finish the Hollow off properly. All he's managed is half a dozen nicks and half-misses in the past minute. He needs to hurry; he can't be held up here any longer.

Then, in a stroke of luck, Zabuza unleashes a grating, deafening roar, disoriented as his long limbs thrash wildly. Sasuke's own ears are ringing and he can't hear; everything is clouded by fog and he can barely see his own blade.

Sasuke's eyes swivel, straining desperately, finally locking onto the mask and he yells as he activates his _shikai_ , "Sear, Kusanagi no Tsurugi!" Black flames erupt and Sasuke focuses his vision on Zabuza, taking utmost care not to catch anything else in his view as his control wavers dangerously. The mask catches, just by the barest sliver, but it's enough and the _kokuen_ flare, spreading greedily.

Zabuza howls in agony as the fire eats away and Sasuke lunges, slashing a lethal blow forcing the Hollow shell to fade away in blue glimmering particles. Sasuke's chest heaves as he promptly deactivates both _shikai_ and Sharingan. He urgently reaches Zabuza and performs Konso without another word, sending the soul away in frantic hastiness.

Sasuke doesn't know what's been going on, but with Zabuza gone the fog disperses, and he spots the stranger stepping forward, slowly closing the distance between him and Naruto.

Sasuke hopelessly wants to tell him to hurry and run, because Naruto's no match for this man; Sasuke's no match for this man. None of them could possibly run fast enough to get away in time. Even so, Sasuke pushes into _shunpo_ racing to cross the cemetery but he's so incredibly _slow_ ; he can only watch as Naruto holds his ground grimly with his Zanpakuto raised, standing between the man and Haku, refusing to move. Sasuke's Sharingan swirl and he _sees_ the spiritual energy gathering in the man's hand as he surges forward like a tidal wave, unstoppable and devastating.

Sasuke stumbles to a stop as a dull slap echoes throughout the cemetery. The man's hand has been forced aside by a vehement shockwave, disturbing air with pure physical prowess.

Hinata's Byakugan pulse with intrepid promise, "Don't you dare touch him."

* * *

Notes:

Hi!

Sorry for posting this later than usual! I totally forgot this week. XD

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter! :) I worked pretty hard on this one and the next one.

\- bluewindfall


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto watches in horror as Zabuza turns into a Hollow, the white mask coagulating as the grotesque form towers over them. Fog spreads rapidly, engulfing the area with unbelievable speed and the man turns back, taking a step toward Haku.

Naruto grabs Haku's hand, tugging hard as he forcefully shoves himself in the masked man's path. He rummages through his pocket for the Soul Candy because if he doesn't do it now, he'll definitely regret it later.

The sensation of seeing his own body run off is highly disorienting, but Naruto has other things to worry about right now. Sasuke's somehow leading Zabuza away, just not quickly enough and the fog is starting to seriously impair his vision.

Naruto takes a moment to calm himself down. His first priority is to keep this man away from Haku. Naruto doesn't know what he did to Zabuza, but he won't stand by to let the same fate befall Haku.

He needs to stall for time. Until Sasuke can come back. Until Naruto can figure something out. So, he blurts questions, hoping to hit some good conversation starter to get this guy talking. "What are you doing? Why did you do that to Zabuza? Who are you?"

Naruto backs up slowly and nudges Haku to stay behind him as discreetly as he can.

The man steps forward, black boots clicking on cement as his cloak sways. His single eye is dark and piercing. Naruto suppresses an urge to shiver as he feels a prickling chill run down his spine as he stares at the bizarre orange mask shaded by the cowl of the cloak.

"I am… pursuing a certain venture. For my purpose, I need the energy of souls. You see, the energy levels of a spirit are not always homogeneous. I've found they are most lucrative in a state of despair, anguish."

Naruto swallows dryly. "Yeah, and what happens to the spirits, then?" _Keep talking, please keep talking_.

Naruto tries to cautiously look around without turning his head too much, but he can't see anything other than fog and it's weird because Naruto can hear Sasuke fighting but the sound seems to be distorted, coming from random directions. He can't seem to find Hinata at all either. So far, Naruto's trying to keep the conversation alive, but this guy's not going to talk forever….

The man spreads his gloved hands outward in an apologetic manner. "Well, they are simply consumed. That one," he nods to the side and Naruto assumes he means Zabuza, but Naruto can't see anything beyond about one meter in this thick fog, how could this man possibly see better when he's only got one eye– "is botched. But this one, this one is high quality. I'll spare you and the other one if you step aside now, boy."

Naruto raises his Zanpakuto. It feels unwieldy, too heavy at the tip with a short handle that makes him hesitant on whether to hold it with one or two hands and holy crap, Naruto's never properly held a sword in his life before; what in the world is he supposed to do with this?

But it's not as if he can just, like the man says, step aside and let him do whatever he said he's going to do with Haku. And even if he did, as if Naruto trusts this guy to keep his word.

Naruto draws a breath quickly and braces himself as the man flashes forward unbelievably fast.

Suddenly, Naruto finds himself frozen, all thoughts arrested; transfixed as he watches the man's eye morph, blooming blood red–

The sound of water trickling by fills his ears and Naruto opens his eyes to a dim, sickly yellow light, flooding over the walls of an underground sewer.

He stands still. The water flows over his sandals but doesn't linger, refusing to soak his socks. It doesn't stink and looks… pretty clean for a sewer, although truthfully, Naruto's never been in one; he's never had any business wandering in a sewer.

 _What is he doing here?_

Naruto's thoughts scatter. He can't remember why he's here, why he needs to be away from here. Or why he needs to find something here.

But he just has a feeling he needs something, something here.

Naruto observes that there is a gentle current. Water flows naturally in the direction of an outlet, he reasons. It'll lead him to where he needs to be. Some feeling in his gut is telling him he needs to go there.

Naruto reaches a large cavernous opening and as he steps through, the path he took here disappears. But he doesn't feel uneasy. He feels _right_.

Small ripples gradually propagate outward as Naruto steps closer to the enormous cage in the center of the space. The bars are made of cold metal and they reach so high that Naruto has to tilt his head up to stare at the intriguing paper stuck at the center.

Only to scramble backward as a ferocious roar sends the water arcing outward, menacing and vicious as the very air trembles. Naruto claps his hands over his ears, watching as two cat-like red eyes seem to pierce right through him and–

Long flowing strands of hair splay across Naruto's field of vision and within a second, he finds himself back, back from _where?_

"Don't you _dare_ touch him." Hinata stands before him, poised and resolute.

"Hinata–"

Before he can finish, the man lunges again, the eye is back to normal, and Hinata meets him blow for blow, assured and graceful. And Naruto is amazed. He'd never expected Hinata to be this strong; maybe they'll get out of this–

Then, Naruto notices. And his hope crumbles. The man is still holding onto the umbrella. He's been fighting evenly matched with Hinata… with only _one_ hand. How can this be happening?

Hinata takes a glancing blow on the forearm and Naruto feels so _useless_. He can't even assist in any way and Hinata's not going to last once this guy gets serious. Naruto doesn't know what he's playing at but–

Steel clashes with steel as sparks fly and the screech of metal rings across the cemetery. Sasuke's arms shake as he slams his blade against the stranger's. Naruto hadn't even seen him draw it; where in the world did he pull it out from?

But then something clicks. Their eyes are the _same_.

Sasuke disengages, pulling back to stand beside Hinata. "Naruto! Go to Hatake Shoten and get help. We'll hold him here, so hurry!"

Naruto clenches his jaw. There's no way they'll last that long. Naruto knows he can't do anything, but he can't run here. He refuses to run away and come back only to find them gone or worse, dead.

The man said he wanted something from Naruto. And he wants Haku.

Naruto turns around. There is one thing he can do right now. Yes, he needs to hurry, but this is something even he can do. He steps back and hefts his Zanpakuto up, forcing it down hilt first.

"Haku, I'm going to send you to Soul Society!" Naruto declares unapologetically, and he hopes he's doing this right because he can't let this guy get to Haku, he needs to send him away _now_.

"But Zabuza-san is still–"

"Sasuke took care of it!" Naruto spews, hoping it's true and Haku nods standing still, confused but compliant, as Naruto knocks him on the forehead. He concentrates, letting spiritual particles flow to his Zanpakuto, gathering to the end. Naruto remembers Sasuke's sticky note exercise and channels that feeling with every last scrap of focus he has.

He takes a sigh of relief as Haku fades away into blue light and Naruto turns back to Hinata and Sasuke's fight without a second thought, just in time to see Hinata be pummeled in the stomach, flying backward. Naruto rushes to the side, catching her before she can hit the grave marker.

Sasuke stands alone, frame wracked with weariness, readying his stance again.

But the stranger doesn't move.

"To think the Quincy still live. And I see you've sent my spirit away. How prudent of you." He sheathes the sword into a hidden scabbard in the umbrella and turns to retrieve his cane. "Uzumaki Naruto, I will come for you soon."

Naruto blinks twice in confusion. He just disappeared, as though he'd never been there in the first place, into thin air.

A clatter startles Naruto from his thoughts. He turns to look and his breath catches in his throat as Sasuke falls limply to the ground.

"Sasuke!" Naruto scrambles over. Sasuke is pale; his normally white skin is now whiter than bleached sheets and beads of sweat trail down his face. Hinata walks over, exhaustion clearly showing in her sluggish movements.

"He's overused his spiritual energy. It's probably fatigue. He should recover."

Naruto nods quickly. "Hinata, are you hurt?"

She shakes her head quickly, but Naruto can see she's holding her arm awkwardly to the side and he's worried; he's so frustrated with his own powerlessness. "Let's go back to my house; I'll call my dad and have him look at your arm. Help me get Sasuke up?"

Hinata makes to help shift Sasuke, but he moves a little and manages to prop himself up into a sitting position with a little help. "Wait, Naruto. Get your body first." Sasuke points at where the two of them are huddled behind a gravestone and Naruto nearly laughs at the sight.

Both Naruto and Sasuke's bodies are hugging each other in fear and they just look so frightened that Naruto is almost hesitant to approach them.

"Hey, uh, what's are your names?" Naruto hears Sasuke huff and wonders if he's asked a silly question.

"Chappy," the _gikon_ in Sasuke's body says.

"Gamakichi," Naruto's body mutters.

Naruto frowns. They certainly seem rather unfriendly. No, they must be too scared. He puts on his friendliest smile, usually reserved for crying children and fluffy animals. "It's to meet you. I'm Naruto! The guy sitting on the ground is Sasuke and the one next to him is Hinata. Thanks for taking care of my body!"

"Just get my _gigai_ already! They're just artificial souls; they can't hold conversation for heaven's sake."

Naruto smirks. It sounds like Sasuke's already recovering if he has enough energy to be pissed off.

They stagger back to Naruto's house and somehow run into Kakashi, Rin and Obito on the way back.

Rin immediately ushers Hinata over to the clinic once they reach Naruto's house and runs a hand over her arm. She clicks her tongue and pushes Sasuke to lie down. "Rest. Don't move."

She smiles, "I'm Rin, what's your name?"

"Hinata. I'm Hyuuga Hinata. It's nice to meet you, Rin-san."

"You as well, Hinata-chan. Alright, I'm all done! How does it feel- Sasuke, lie back down, don't think I can't see you from over here."

"Er, Naruto, let's talk in another room, alright?" Obito slowly pulls him away and lets Naruto lead them to the living room.

Kakashi and Obito look concerned, but Naruto doesn't even know where to begin.

Kakashi clears his throat softly. "Naruto, we came to check since a Hollow appeared. Did you guys manage to take care of it?"

Naruto nods. "Sasuke did."

"No wonder he's in that shape. His _reiryoku_ wasn't even close to being recovered. What were you guys thinking? Why didn't you leave it to us?" Obito asks gently.

Naruto shakes his head. They'd never expected it to turn out like this. "A spirit came and asked us to help his friend pass on. But when we got there, there was this man… he, he turned Zabuza into a Hollow."

Obito clenches his fists and Kakashi's expression turns dark, but neither of them looks surprised. Naruto's mind turns this around sluggishly and he gives up, filing it away for later.

Naruto gets up, feeling restless, and boils some water to make tea. He'd had so much adrenaline running through him just a bit ago. He'd felt like he couldn't remember anything _there_ ; all the pieces were like scraps of paper, drifting apart in water as he attempted to grasp them. And what had that presence in the cage been? Naruto had never felt rage so bitter, so _agonized._

But what can Naruto say? He was about to be attacked by that man, then he was somehow in a sewer meandering for what felt like nearly a whole hour and he just pops right back out and no time has passed? No. Now's definitely not a good time for that. He needs answers, but the problem at hand is more pressing.

He needs to know what he can about that man and Naruto needs to be ready the next time. "He had an orange mask. With one eye hole. The man, I mean."

Neither of them shows any sign of recognition. Naruto feels disheartened. He'd wanted to get some answers, but it must have been too much to hope for.

Kakashi wanders over and gives Naruto a hand with the tea by getting the cups out and scooping out some green tea leaves.

"He said he wanted something from me. He's going to come back. What should I do?" And it's a feeling like a bitter taste in the back of his mouth, insistent and dissonant; lingering faintly in his mind. "I couldn't do anything today."

Kakashi puts a hand on his shoulder, "Naruto, I think I know what's going on. Is your father coming back soon?"

"Yeah, in a few hours."

Naruto pours tea for the two of them as he racks his brain trying to remember more. "He had Sharingan."

Obito and Kakashi exchange a look that Naruto can't decipher. He opens his mouth to ask, but Rin walks in with Hinata and they sit at the table as well.

"Sasuke needs to rest for a day or so and he'll be fine. Just don't go chasing any more Hollows, okay?"

Naruto nods seriously. "I can't be this useless next time. I need to be stronger."

Kakashi pats his shoulder, moving to speak but Rin beats him to it. "Sasuke told me; he thinks you should learn how to make _kage bunshin._ "

"Really? What's it do? When can I get started?"

Rin smiles patiently, "I'll show you the hand seals and then we'll work on molding _reishi_ , alright?"

And this is exactly how Minato returns to find one hundred Narutos in the house.

* * *

Notes:

Hi!

I'm sorry for the late update! I'd been meaning to post this yesterday, but I completely forgot. XD I'm trying to move the plot along faster now, but for some reason I just love writing fluff and filler stuff. Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!

\- bluewindfall


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